It’s a generally well-known fact that most of the people in the world, past and present, identify themselves with a religion. In east Asia, we see the prevalence of Buddhism, while on the Indian subcontinent, the Hindu religion predominates. Islam covers northern Africa, parts of the Balkans, central and southwest Asia, Indonesia and some neighboring lands. Christianity is the “majority” religion in Europe, Australia, parts of Africa, and North and South America. Judaism is the main identified faith in Israel and in many local communities spread throughout the world, especially in the United States. And, of course, there are many other faiths as well. Besides this, the main religions are all subdivided into various sects. Someone in, say, Libya, is likely to grow up in the Islamic faith, while a resident of Bombay is very likely to be a Hindu. A Cambodian farmer is probably going to live his life out as a Buddhist, while a child in Alabama will find him or herself growing up in a culture of Christianity. And a student growing up in Tel Aviv will most likely consider herself to be Jewish.
As the children in the various diverse cultures all over the world grow up into adults, they often will become more aware of their culture’s and/or their family’s religious faith and will become educated as to that faith’s doctrine. More likely than not, that doctrine will teach that, whatever faith it is, it happens to be the exclusively correct divinely-inspired faith. By exclusively, I mean that this excludes all other religions from being acceptable to the believer. Thus, an adult believer in his or her predominant faith will learn to look down, either with concern, pity, or contempt, at the followers of other religions.
But the overwhelming reason that a person becomes an adherent to a particular faith isn’t that said faith is “The Way”: the reason is quite simply the fact that the believer was born and raised in that religion’s culture, either as part of a seriously devoted family, or simply as a general member of the society where that religion prevails as an accepted part of the culture. So, a born-again Christian in America may be considered to be a true convert by his church, but in reality he most likely had been exposed to Christian culture in one way or another his whole life, even if his family wasn’t religious.
True converts, that is, people who reject their beliefs that were prevalent in their home culture and adopt a “foreign” religion, are in reality relatively rare in number. The overwhelming body of religious believers in the world did not choose their faith: the accident of birth within a particular society or family mainly determined their religious identity. I believe that it is a gross form of self-deception for one, therefore, to ignore this fact while waving their own religion’s scriptures around to try and convince people that they are out of favor with (or separated from) God just because they were born and raised somewhere else.
An honest person, with few exceptions, would answer the question “Why am I of the ___ faith?” by saying “Because that religion was the prevalent one in the societal and family context that I was born and raised in.” I’m afraid that our planet is in for a very dismal future if people don’t just grow up and show a little mature awareness on this matter!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy St. Valentine's Day
I hope that you readers out there in cyberland are enjoying this little holiday that celebrates love and affection. St. Valentine's Day is a very special day for my wonderful, lovely wife and me. This marks the 23rd time we've shared it together. It's a blessing to have holidays like this (even though I don't get the day off from work), because it gives me the opportunity to once again thank her and God for her presence in my life!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Prioritizing and Accomplishing Goals
Whenever I have a challenging goal laid out ahead of me to accomplish, I find that my chances of success are much more enhanced the more fanatical and single-minded I am about accomplishing it. This is fine if my life were simple, with few responsibilities or interests. But I have found as I have grown older that my goals have proliferated to the point where my embarking on one necessarily interferes with my work on others. And I don't think that I can (or want to) go back to the time in my life when I could just "let things slide" in favor of one particular quest that happened to captivate my attention at the time.
At the beginning of this year, I set as a goal for myself to consistently write fiction, with the intention of having it published for sale. In truth, I have written very little so far and am disappointed. But I've also been engaged in many other projects and duties that have drawn my time and attention away from this important goal. However, if I am to become a successfully published writer, as the great Stephen King has repeatedly stressed, I must make it a priority and set aside time solely devoted to writing fiction. And do or think about nothing else during that time. When the allotted time is up, then I'm open for the other things that, as an adult with a family and many interests, I will continue to engage in. But although I can't make writing stories an exclusive, "nothing else matters" kind of project, I can be more assertive to myself and others in creating the conditions that will help me achieve the success that I know I am fully capable of. I've already begun to do this with my piano study, running, blog writing, and reading. Besides writing fiction, foreign language learning is also an area that I need to set aside a specific time and place for undistracted study.
I have learned to be a multitasker: often in situations that I know I have be in but which don't require my constant attention and vigilance, I will pull out my pocket notebook to scribble down ideas for stories I have or some papers that have lists of foreign language words that I want to review or learn. I also have an MP3 player that I carry at times when I can listen to downloaded webcasts from international broadcaster of the Internet. But that, while helpful, is no substitute for just sitting down and concentrating my full attention on a particular project, without distractions. Setting aside a block of time for an endeavor accomplishes two things: one, it trains me to deeply believe in the importance of the endeavor, and two, it creates an atmosphere of self-accountability toward the endeavor's fulfillment (I can't make excuses like I was distracted by other things). I know this can happen. I just have to take the steps to make it happen!
At the beginning of this year, I set as a goal for myself to consistently write fiction, with the intention of having it published for sale. In truth, I have written very little so far and am disappointed. But I've also been engaged in many other projects and duties that have drawn my time and attention away from this important goal. However, if I am to become a successfully published writer, as the great Stephen King has repeatedly stressed, I must make it a priority and set aside time solely devoted to writing fiction. And do or think about nothing else during that time. When the allotted time is up, then I'm open for the other things that, as an adult with a family and many interests, I will continue to engage in. But although I can't make writing stories an exclusive, "nothing else matters" kind of project, I can be more assertive to myself and others in creating the conditions that will help me achieve the success that I know I am fully capable of. I've already begun to do this with my piano study, running, blog writing, and reading. Besides writing fiction, foreign language learning is also an area that I need to set aside a specific time and place for undistracted study.
I have learned to be a multitasker: often in situations that I know I have be in but which don't require my constant attention and vigilance, I will pull out my pocket notebook to scribble down ideas for stories I have or some papers that have lists of foreign language words that I want to review or learn. I also have an MP3 player that I carry at times when I can listen to downloaded webcasts from international broadcaster of the Internet. But that, while helpful, is no substitute for just sitting down and concentrating my full attention on a particular project, without distractions. Setting aside a block of time for an endeavor accomplishes two things: one, it trains me to deeply believe in the importance of the endeavor, and two, it creates an atmosphere of self-accountability toward the endeavor's fulfillment (I can't make excuses like I was distracted by other things). I know this can happen. I just have to take the steps to make it happen!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Mundane Matters on the Eights: 2/12
There is a new area in my "self-improvement" zone that I'm trying to figure out a way to appropriately express on this blog. For want of a better term, I call it "mundane matters". Keeping up with the mundane things in my life is probably one of my greatest shortcomings as a human being on this world. Keeping up with important deadlines, keeping my home and vehicles maintained and clean, being more careful with finances, and a few other other areas could stand a good dose of attention and habit-changing! But, with regard to this blog, being transmitted world-wide to anyone who clicks on it, I'm not all that keen on revealing things like this, at least in any great detail. So instead, I'm going to encode it a bit, even though it seems as if this may defeat the whole purpose of publicly holding myself accountable for my progress (or lack thereof). Still, I think it's worth a try. I will therefore initiate a new "on the eights" blog entry (every eight weeks) titled "Mundane Matters on the Eights" which may or may not completely make sense to the reader. But I do plan to write some stuff that is comprehensible (although it may seem terribly boring) in my "mundane matters" entries. So, I guess this is "Day Zero", and who knows what you'll find eight weeks from now! But at least this puts me, in at least a small way, on the spot in regard to behaviors that I need to change about ordinary, but important areas of my life. So, if you happen to run across one of these entries in the future, you have my sympathies! It will be only once every eight weeks, anyway.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Monday Newsbreak: 2/11
--The Super Tuesday primary results did nothing but tighten up the Democratic presidential race, but on the Republican side John McCain won enough contests and delegates to eventually convince his main competitor Mitt Romney to drop out of the race. The extreme irony of the campaign season is that the actual President, George W. Bush, has been buried in the news by personalities who presently have no real power to determine American policies from an Executive Branch level. Even Bush's important Middle East trip a few weeks ago seemed to be overshadowed to a large part by the campaign. But some working within the McCain campaign organization are considering a possible involvement by our current President on his behalf in the campaign. I may be wrong, but if they want to use President Bush to help out McCain, they need to do it sooner instead of later to help bring disaffected conservatives over to McCain (earlier) and to deemphasize the Bush connection (later) during the general campaign to bring over Democrats and Independents.
--An ominous report has come out revealing that this year's flu vaccine has missed many of the strains that are spreading across the United States. And several of the states are currently experiencing very high flu outbreaks. So far, my Florida is one of the few states that are relatively unscathed by flu. Let's hope it stays that way, and not just for my sake. After all, Florida is a state full of the elderly, and they are the people the most endangered by influenza.
--Concurrent with the February 5 Super Tuesday evening election returns was a deadly plague of tornadoes that descended on Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee, causing at last report 56 deaths. It seems that severe winter frontal storms have affected this general area many times over the past few years.
--The National Basketball Association team that I support, the Phoenix Suns, just made a make-or-break major trade with the Miami Heat, picking up the legendary-but-aging Shaquille O'Neal in exchange for star Suns player Shawn Marion and another teammate. I'm really going to have to see one of those late-night Suns game to see the on-court dynamic between the great Steve Nash and Shaquille. These are already my two favorite players, and now they're both on my favorite team. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...
--An ominous report has come out revealing that this year's flu vaccine has missed many of the strains that are spreading across the United States. And several of the states are currently experiencing very high flu outbreaks. So far, my Florida is one of the few states that are relatively unscathed by flu. Let's hope it stays that way, and not just for my sake. After all, Florida is a state full of the elderly, and they are the people the most endangered by influenza.
--Concurrent with the February 5 Super Tuesday evening election returns was a deadly plague of tornadoes that descended on Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee, causing at last report 56 deaths. It seems that severe winter frontal storms have affected this general area many times over the past few years.
--The National Basketball Association team that I support, the Phoenix Suns, just made a make-or-break major trade with the Miami Heat, picking up the legendary-but-aging Shaquille O'Neal in exchange for star Suns player Shawn Marion and another teammate. I'm really going to have to see one of those late-night Suns game to see the on-court dynamic between the great Steve Nash and Shaquille. These are already my two favorite players, and now they're both on my favorite team. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Universal Health Coverage
The future of health care in this country and how it will be payed for is turning out to be a key issue in this year's presidential campaign. Both surviving Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have expressed the goal of universal health insurance coverage for Americans, while presumptive Republican nominee John McCain wants more coverage, but from the perspective of encouraging market forces in the private sector with minimal government intervention. Critics of universal health care often dub it "socialized medicine" and refer to Canada and countries overseas with that type of system and its perceived drawbacks. Also, many have expressed resentment over some getting the coverage at the expense of others' labors.
In the first place, just because other countries have instituted policies that transferred either ownership or management of their health care systems to the state, this does not automatically translate to how the United States would implement a universal health care system. Our preferred way of doing things here is for the government to come into business relationships with private companies to accomplish its ends. Our space and defense programs are supplied through contracts made with corporations that design, make, and sell the needed technology. Our wonderful interstate highway system has been built and is being maintained by a contractual relationship with private companies. And similarly, our health care system can also be maintained around a policy of public/private business partnership. For the second objection, hard-working citizens are already paying the bills of those unable to pay through lack of insurance by incurring larger medical bills. And I'd like to add a couple of other points to the discussion.
Lately, there has been a movement of some U.S.-based companies from American to Canadian soil because in Canada, the burden of providing health insurance has been lifted from the backs of private industry, thus greatly diminishing the costs of running those businesses. There is no compelling reason why an employer should be made responsible for providing insurance to its employees, anyway. The only reason it's gotten to this stage today is because many years ago, some companies began to offer health insurance as part of their benefits packages to attract quality employees. If we want to improve the quality of our economic life in this country, then we should unsaddle small companies from the burden of being expected to offer expensive health insurance benefits in a disadvantageous competition with the larger corporations. So if universal health care is undertaken as a priority in the future, one of the goals has to be freeing businesses from this burden. The second point I'd like to make is that many people, especially as they progress into their middle aged years, begin to incur what the insurance industry terms as "preexisting conditions." And preexisting conditions can make it very difficult and costly for someone if they were to change jobs or careers and have to find a new insurance provider. The affected employee may not even be the one with a preexisting condition: it could just be a dependent. If health insurance were freed from its association with employment, then that person would be free to pursue a better job, or better yet, to start up a brand new business. So, you may see that I believe that making health insurance both universal and public will actually further the aims of capitalism and spur on a new spirit of entrepreneurship in our country!
In the first place, just because other countries have instituted policies that transferred either ownership or management of their health care systems to the state, this does not automatically translate to how the United States would implement a universal health care system. Our preferred way of doing things here is for the government to come into business relationships with private companies to accomplish its ends. Our space and defense programs are supplied through contracts made with corporations that design, make, and sell the needed technology. Our wonderful interstate highway system has been built and is being maintained by a contractual relationship with private companies. And similarly, our health care system can also be maintained around a policy of public/private business partnership. For the second objection, hard-working citizens are already paying the bills of those unable to pay through lack of insurance by incurring larger medical bills. And I'd like to add a couple of other points to the discussion.
Lately, there has been a movement of some U.S.-based companies from American to Canadian soil because in Canada, the burden of providing health insurance has been lifted from the backs of private industry, thus greatly diminishing the costs of running those businesses. There is no compelling reason why an employer should be made responsible for providing insurance to its employees, anyway. The only reason it's gotten to this stage today is because many years ago, some companies began to offer health insurance as part of their benefits packages to attract quality employees. If we want to improve the quality of our economic life in this country, then we should unsaddle small companies from the burden of being expected to offer expensive health insurance benefits in a disadvantageous competition with the larger corporations. So if universal health care is undertaken as a priority in the future, one of the goals has to be freeing businesses from this burden. The second point I'd like to make is that many people, especially as they progress into their middle aged years, begin to incur what the insurance industry terms as "preexisting conditions." And preexisting conditions can make it very difficult and costly for someone if they were to change jobs or careers and have to find a new insurance provider. The affected employee may not even be the one with a preexisting condition: it could just be a dependent. If health insurance were freed from its association with employment, then that person would be free to pursue a better job, or better yet, to start up a brand new business. So, you may see that I believe that making health insurance both universal and public will actually further the aims of capitalism and spur on a new spirit of entrepreneurship in our country!
Friday, February 8, 2008
The Exploding Cigar
In today's Gainesville Sun, editorial cartoonist Jake Fuller, a conservative in his own right, nevertheless takes a shot at some of the intelligent-but-foolish conservative talk show hosts out there. Pictured is a caricature resembling Rush Limbaugh. He's wearing a headset, sitting before a microphone, and holding a paper with the words "Talk Radio" on it. Oh, and he has a cigar in his mouth. With the name "Mitt" on it. And it's exploding in his face.
It goes beyond my comprehension that so many of these conservative talk radio hosts are trashing John McCain, who is quite simply the best shot that they have of getting a Republican into the White House (and who IS a conservative as well). Instead, they not only keep condemning McCain, but they also keep questioning very conservative candidate Mike Huckabee's ideological credentials. And whom do they favor but (former?) liberal Republican Mitt Romney, who has done a complete about-face on several issues on which he was at odds with his party's conservative wing, just to pander to them for their support. The two glaring issues that hit me were his support for abortion rights and his (considerable) raising of taxes while he was governor of Massachusetts. And then he had the gall to repeatedly criticize McCain about taxes during the campaign!
These radio "personalities" need to get a life (preferably, as far away as possible)! I even heard Ann Coulter say that she would support Hillary Clinton over John McCain should he get the nomination. Well, he's getting the nomination! BOOM! I think I just heard another exploding cigar!
It goes beyond my comprehension that so many of these conservative talk radio hosts are trashing John McCain, who is quite simply the best shot that they have of getting a Republican into the White House (and who IS a conservative as well). Instead, they not only keep condemning McCain, but they also keep questioning very conservative candidate Mike Huckabee's ideological credentials. And whom do they favor but (former?) liberal Republican Mitt Romney, who has done a complete about-face on several issues on which he was at odds with his party's conservative wing, just to pander to them for their support. The two glaring issues that hit me were his support for abortion rights and his (considerable) raising of taxes while he was governor of Massachusetts. And then he had the gall to repeatedly criticize McCain about taxes during the campaign!
These radio "personalities" need to get a life (preferably, as far away as possible)! I even heard Ann Coulter say that she would support Hillary Clinton over John McCain should he get the nomination. Well, he's getting the nomination! BOOM! I think I just heard another exploding cigar!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Favorite Songs of 1987
In my opinion, 1987 was perhaps the best year for music of the eighties. There were so many great tunes, I will probably leave out a few of them. One song by Genesis, Home By the Sea, didn't reach my ears until '87, even though it had been out for three years. Fleetwood Mac churned out another album, and with it, two good songs: Lindsey Buckingham's Big Love and Stevie Nicks's underrated and underplayed Seven Wonders. Aerosmith made their explosive comeback with their funny Dude Looks Like a Lady. The Beastie Boys made their debut as a nationwide act with the anthem You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Party. John Mellencamp reminisced once again about his good old teenage days with his mellow Cherry Bomb. Cameo's funky Word Up was my favorite dance hit that year. Paul Simon came out with Boy in the Bubble from his Graceland album. The song is impressive enough, but the video for it was groundbreaking and very intense. Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram had a sweet duet with Somewhere Out There. U2's album The Joshua Tree had a string of hits, most notable (to me) Where the Streets Have No Name and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. One-hit wonders T'Pau and the Breakfast Club impressed me with Heart and Soul and Right On Track, respectively. Peter Gabriel's self-deprecating Big Time was my favorite of his off his So album, released the year before. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had maybe their funniest hit (to me) with their scorching Stop Jammin' Me. Whitney Houston recorded her most riveting, exciting song ever: So Emotional. Steve Winwood continued his comeback with his comeback-themed Back in the High Life Again. Another great music video was born in 1987 out of Pink Floyd's comeback hit Learning to Fly. Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead Or Alive was an anguished ode to the hectic life of a band on tour. Atlantic Starr's Always was the greatest love song of 1987 (to me). But without a doubt, my favorite song of all from that year (and during it) was Suzanne Vega's touching and painful narrative of an abused child's struggle with life: Luka.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
VP Or Not VP, That Is the Question
With the developing presidential campaign continuing to narrow down the field of contenders, there is starting to be more speculation as to the different scenarios for party tickets. It looks as if, barring an unforeseen Mike Huckabee "revival", either John McCain or Mitt Romney will gain the Republican nomination. And either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will prevail on the Democratic side. With the GOP, it would be wise for whoever wins to pick the runner-up as a vice-presidential running mate, so you could see either a McCain/Romney or a Romney/McCain ticket on the ballot in November. This formula worked spectacularly in 1980, when Ronald Reagan selected his tough, critical campaign rival George H.W. Bush to be his running mate. And I can see either McCain or Romney willingly acquiescing to their selection as a vice-presidential nominee. And, of course, Mike Huckabee is also there and available for a V.P. selection by the eventual nominee as well.
The Democratic Party presents a different picture. If former First Lady (for eight years) Hillary Clinton gains the nomination, then I see first-term Senator Barack Obama accepting a place on the ticket (if asked, that is). Of course, the Clintons have a tendency to behave spitefully toward anyone whom they perceive as having crossed them. And Obama has certainly stood in their way for the past few months! If Barack Obama wins the nomination, though, I have serious doubts that Hillary Clinton would "lower herself" to a second-tier spot on the ticket. As I see it, she only has a four-year edge on Obama in the U.S. Senate, and even that margin evaporates when you consider her totality of experience in elected office. Why do people continually credit her with experience just because she inhabited the White House for a while (with no decision-making power)? I think we know the answer, don't we? Those who support Hillary, based on her "experience", are probably hoping that her husband will be right there while she is President, guiding her every step of the way! And I don't think that he would be all that happy being the husband of a vice-president, do you? So if Obama wins, I would look for someone else to fill the vice-presidential spot on the Democratic ticket. Would it be John Edwards? He'd be the logical choice, but would he be willing to do it again, seeing how he ran unsuccessfully four years ago on Kerry's ticket?
In truth, the nominee for either party is not necessarily bound to select someone from the campaign to be their running mate. After all, the past three Presidents had selected for their Vice-President choices people who hadn't run that year (Dan Quayle, Al Gore, and Dick Cheney). And thus we may end up with some surprises at the end this time around as well!
The Democratic Party presents a different picture. If former First Lady (for eight years) Hillary Clinton gains the nomination, then I see first-term Senator Barack Obama accepting a place on the ticket (if asked, that is). Of course, the Clintons have a tendency to behave spitefully toward anyone whom they perceive as having crossed them. And Obama has certainly stood in their way for the past few months! If Barack Obama wins the nomination, though, I have serious doubts that Hillary Clinton would "lower herself" to a second-tier spot on the ticket. As I see it, she only has a four-year edge on Obama in the U.S. Senate, and even that margin evaporates when you consider her totality of experience in elected office. Why do people continually credit her with experience just because she inhabited the White House for a while (with no decision-making power)? I think we know the answer, don't we? Those who support Hillary, based on her "experience", are probably hoping that her husband will be right there while she is President, guiding her every step of the way! And I don't think that he would be all that happy being the husband of a vice-president, do you? So if Obama wins, I would look for someone else to fill the vice-presidential spot on the Democratic ticket. Would it be John Edwards? He'd be the logical choice, but would he be willing to do it again, seeing how he ran unsuccessfully four years ago on Kerry's ticket?
In truth, the nominee for either party is not necessarily bound to select someone from the campaign to be their running mate. After all, the past three Presidents had selected for their Vice-President choices people who hadn't run that year (Dan Quayle, Al Gore, and Dick Cheney). And thus we may end up with some surprises at the end this time around as well!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
My Top Ten SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes
As I have written earlier, my favorite ongoing cartoon series is SpongeBob SquarePants. Set in a town called Bikini Bottom on the ocean floor, the main characters are SpongeBob SquarePants (a sponge), Patrick (a starfish), Squidward (an octopus), Mr. Krabs (a crab), and Sandy (a genius squirrel). The series is full of absurdities, as the episode descriptions below hint at.
#10: Bubblestand
---SpongeBob sets up a bubblestand: for a quarter each, you can blow a bubble, and for another quarter, you can take bubble-blowing lessons. Squidward, SpongeBob's vain next-door neighbor, gets "taken for a ride" by this scheme in one of the very first episodes of this series.
#9: Bubble Buddy
---It's Leif Ericson Day, and there's nobody around to help SpongeBob celebrate it. So he does the next best thing: he invents an imaginary friend, a creation blown from his own bubble jar that he names "Bubble Buddy". SpongeBob's new-found friend then proceeds to wreak havoc throughout Bikini Bottom.
#8: Mermaidman & Barnacleboy 3
---The above-mentioned aging superheroes are going away on vacation, and they leave SpongeBob and Patrick to watch their lair for them. Not a very wise choice! The two then proceed to accidentally free the arch-villain Man-Ray, whom the vacationing superheroes had put into a tartar-sauce-deep-freeze in one of their earlier episodes. Then, SpongeBob must think fast to rehabilitate Man-Ray back into a useful citizen before it's too late. Patrick shines in this episode.
#7: Chocolate With Nuts
---SpongeBob and Patrick want to live the good life, but how? Neighbor Squidward tells them they have to be entrepreneurs and then they'd have all the money they wanted. So Sponge and Patrick go out to try and sell chocolate bars. And along the way, they learn quite a few things about human (whoops, I mean fish) nature.
#6: New Student Starfish
---Patrick's sad because his best friend SpongeBob is going to be gone all day at boating school (at the bottom of the ocean? Don't even ask!). So SpongeBob invites him to join him as a fellow student. Big mistake, as the two can't help but disrupt class and get into trouble. This was a great spoof of classes and school in general.
#5: Hall Monitor
---Another boating school spoof, SpongeBob is reluctantly picked by Mrs. Puff, his boating school instructor, to be hall monitor (nobody else wanted the job). But before he gets to begin his duties in the hall, the dismissal bell rings. Mrs. Puff feels sorry for SpongeBob and lets him keep the hall monitor uniform overnight. Wearing it, though, SpongeBob gets the idea that the uniform gives him carte blanche authority throughout Bikini Bottom to enforce the law (however it suits him)! Uh-oh!
#4: Survival of the Idiots
---SpongeBob and Patrick visit their friend Sandy (a squirrel who lives in a tree under a large plastic dome on the ocean bottom). But Sandy has begun to hibernate, and on a video tape has told visitors (especially SpongeBob) to stay away. But the two heedlessly enter Sandy's dome anyway and experience the joys of snow, along with the extreme peril coming to anyone awakening a hibernating mammal. This episode is full of classic "Patrick" lines!
#3: Mid-Life Crustacean
---Mr. Krab, SpongeBob's boss at the Krusty Krab restaurant, wakes up one morning to suddenly discover that he is growing old, with everything around him cruelly confirming this fact. At the Krusty Krab, he overhears SpongeBob and Patrick discussing their plans for their upcoming "crazy night" out. Pushing himself on them, Mr. Krab gets the two to let him join in on the "debauchery". To his regret, for he soon discovers that SpongeBob and Patrick have an altogether different conception of what a wild night out is!
#2: Pizza Delivery
---When a customer calls in a pizza order (for delivery) just after Krusty Krab closing time, Squidward reasonably reminds Mr. Krab that the Krusty Krab doesn't sell pizza! That doesn't stop his boss, who deftly instantly transforms a Krabby Patty into a pizza and orders Squidward to deliver it. Squidward's protestations aggravate the situation when Mr. Krab sends SpongeBob to accompany him. The two then embark on an absurd odyssey of endurance to deliver their product. This is the only episode I know in which Squidward actually stands up for SpongeBob. It almost makes me want to cry (if I weren't laughing so hard)!
#1: Just One Bite
---At work in the Krusty Krab, Squidward is badmouthing their showcase product, the Krabby Patty, to SpongeBob. And then he reveals that he has never even eaten one. SpongeBob then pesters Squidward to just try one. Finally, Squidward relents, takes one bite, and falls obsessively in love with Krabby Patties. But his pride won't allow himself to admit this to SpongeBob, and he spends the rest of the episode furtively trying to get hold of another Krabby Patty. This episode contains simply the funniest ending in the entire funny series!
#10: Bubblestand
---SpongeBob sets up a bubblestand: for a quarter each, you can blow a bubble, and for another quarter, you can take bubble-blowing lessons. Squidward, SpongeBob's vain next-door neighbor, gets "taken for a ride" by this scheme in one of the very first episodes of this series.
#9: Bubble Buddy
---It's Leif Ericson Day, and there's nobody around to help SpongeBob celebrate it. So he does the next best thing: he invents an imaginary friend, a creation blown from his own bubble jar that he names "Bubble Buddy". SpongeBob's new-found friend then proceeds to wreak havoc throughout Bikini Bottom.
#8: Mermaidman & Barnacleboy 3
---The above-mentioned aging superheroes are going away on vacation, and they leave SpongeBob and Patrick to watch their lair for them. Not a very wise choice! The two then proceed to accidentally free the arch-villain Man-Ray, whom the vacationing superheroes had put into a tartar-sauce-deep-freeze in one of their earlier episodes. Then, SpongeBob must think fast to rehabilitate Man-Ray back into a useful citizen before it's too late. Patrick shines in this episode.
#7: Chocolate With Nuts
---SpongeBob and Patrick want to live the good life, but how? Neighbor Squidward tells them they have to be entrepreneurs and then they'd have all the money they wanted. So Sponge and Patrick go out to try and sell chocolate bars. And along the way, they learn quite a few things about human (whoops, I mean fish) nature.
#6: New Student Starfish
---Patrick's sad because his best friend SpongeBob is going to be gone all day at boating school (at the bottom of the ocean? Don't even ask!). So SpongeBob invites him to join him as a fellow student. Big mistake, as the two can't help but disrupt class and get into trouble. This was a great spoof of classes and school in general.
#5: Hall Monitor
---Another boating school spoof, SpongeBob is reluctantly picked by Mrs. Puff, his boating school instructor, to be hall monitor (nobody else wanted the job). But before he gets to begin his duties in the hall, the dismissal bell rings. Mrs. Puff feels sorry for SpongeBob and lets him keep the hall monitor uniform overnight. Wearing it, though, SpongeBob gets the idea that the uniform gives him carte blanche authority throughout Bikini Bottom to enforce the law (however it suits him)! Uh-oh!
#4: Survival of the Idiots
---SpongeBob and Patrick visit their friend Sandy (a squirrel who lives in a tree under a large plastic dome on the ocean bottom). But Sandy has begun to hibernate, and on a video tape has told visitors (especially SpongeBob) to stay away. But the two heedlessly enter Sandy's dome anyway and experience the joys of snow, along with the extreme peril coming to anyone awakening a hibernating mammal. This episode is full of classic "Patrick" lines!
#3: Mid-Life Crustacean
---Mr. Krab, SpongeBob's boss at the Krusty Krab restaurant, wakes up one morning to suddenly discover that he is growing old, with everything around him cruelly confirming this fact. At the Krusty Krab, he overhears SpongeBob and Patrick discussing their plans for their upcoming "crazy night" out. Pushing himself on them, Mr. Krab gets the two to let him join in on the "debauchery". To his regret, for he soon discovers that SpongeBob and Patrick have an altogether different conception of what a wild night out is!
#2: Pizza Delivery
---When a customer calls in a pizza order (for delivery) just after Krusty Krab closing time, Squidward reasonably reminds Mr. Krab that the Krusty Krab doesn't sell pizza! That doesn't stop his boss, who deftly instantly transforms a Krabby Patty into a pizza and orders Squidward to deliver it. Squidward's protestations aggravate the situation when Mr. Krab sends SpongeBob to accompany him. The two then embark on an absurd odyssey of endurance to deliver their product. This is the only episode I know in which Squidward actually stands up for SpongeBob. It almost makes me want to cry (if I weren't laughing so hard)!
#1: Just One Bite
---At work in the Krusty Krab, Squidward is badmouthing their showcase product, the Krabby Patty, to SpongeBob. And then he reveals that he has never even eaten one. SpongeBob then pesters Squidward to just try one. Finally, Squidward relents, takes one bite, and falls obsessively in love with Krabby Patties. But his pride won't allow himself to admit this to SpongeBob, and he spends the rest of the episode furtively trying to get hold of another Krabby Patty. This episode contains simply the funniest ending in the entire funny series!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Monday Newsbreak: 2/4
--Retired Florida Democratic Senator Bob Graham recently wrote an opinion piece listing issues that our next president will need to address during the next administration. Homeland security, accessible health insurance, and an effective energy policy were some of the issues he enumerated. But Graham also made a good suggestion regarding future presidential debates as well: let each debate focus on a single predetermined topic, in order to keep the candidates from dodging questions and avoiding addressing difficult issues. Bob Graham was one of the early presidential candidates in 2004 who dropped out of the race early due to lack of support. Too bad. Had his campaign taken off, he would have been a much more viable candidate than John Kerry, and would have probably defeated George W. Bush had he been the Democratic nominee.
--Steve Newman's Earthweek newspaper feature revealed that a special vault has been constructed on the remote, far northern island of Svalbard (in Norway) and filled with more than 200,000 varieties of food crop seeds. The idea is to have a gene supply of crops should a global catastrophe wipe out agriculture on Earth. Norway is responsible for this wonderful humanitarian project.
--The Gainesville City Commission, by a 4-3 vote, approved an ordinance to protect the rights of transgender citizens. Although the ordinance was comprehensive, including areas like housing, employment, and obtaining credit, it was the part of this law that allowed people to use the public restroom of their own gender identification (even if they were physically of the other gender), that drew heated opposition to it. This didn't have to happen, in my opinion. Other communities have passed similar ordinances protecting transgenders while making certain exceptions for public accommodations. The fear of abuse of this ordinance that I've heard from others is not that transgenders would abuse the law: it is that people posing as transgenders would abuse it in order to prey upon others. From what I've read about transgender ordinances, though, nothing serious has ever been reported to have arisen from them to this effect.
--In yesterday's Super Bowl, the unlikely New York Giants capped the National Football League season with a dramatic come-from-behind last-minute win over the previously undefeated and thoroughly self-absorbed New England Patriots. New England quarterback Tom Brady was able to engineer a late fourth quarter drive with little pressure from a pass rush that the Giants had been plaguing him with the entire game. The drive was capped off by a touchdown pass from Brady, who set an NFL single-season record of 50 touchdown passes, to Randy Moss, who set an NFL single-season record for his 23 touchdown pass receptions. That gave the Patriots a 14-10 lead, but it wasn't enough, as Eli Manning lead his team back, culminating in a last-minute touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress for the winning touchdown and a 17-14 Super Bowl victory. Considering the arrogance of this New England franchise along with their casual belittling of the video-taping scandal that showed them to be cheating in order to give them an unfair advantage over their opponent, I felt that it was perfectly fitting that their so-called "perfect" season was taken away from them with just a few seconds to go! Time to break out the champagne, Dolphins! As for the Giants, I don't think I'll ever forget the great favor this franchise did for me in defeating the Patriots. I'm probably going to end up rooting for them in years to come, even when they're lousy (the true mark of a loyal fan).
--Steve Newman's Earthweek newspaper feature revealed that a special vault has been constructed on the remote, far northern island of Svalbard (in Norway) and filled with more than 200,000 varieties of food crop seeds. The idea is to have a gene supply of crops should a global catastrophe wipe out agriculture on Earth. Norway is responsible for this wonderful humanitarian project.
--The Gainesville City Commission, by a 4-3 vote, approved an ordinance to protect the rights of transgender citizens. Although the ordinance was comprehensive, including areas like housing, employment, and obtaining credit, it was the part of this law that allowed people to use the public restroom of their own gender identification (even if they were physically of the other gender), that drew heated opposition to it. This didn't have to happen, in my opinion. Other communities have passed similar ordinances protecting transgenders while making certain exceptions for public accommodations. The fear of abuse of this ordinance that I've heard from others is not that transgenders would abuse the law: it is that people posing as transgenders would abuse it in order to prey upon others. From what I've read about transgender ordinances, though, nothing serious has ever been reported to have arisen from them to this effect.
--In yesterday's Super Bowl, the unlikely New York Giants capped the National Football League season with a dramatic come-from-behind last-minute win over the previously undefeated and thoroughly self-absorbed New England Patriots. New England quarterback Tom Brady was able to engineer a late fourth quarter drive with little pressure from a pass rush that the Giants had been plaguing him with the entire game. The drive was capped off by a touchdown pass from Brady, who set an NFL single-season record of 50 touchdown passes, to Randy Moss, who set an NFL single-season record for his 23 touchdown pass receptions. That gave the Patriots a 14-10 lead, but it wasn't enough, as Eli Manning lead his team back, culminating in a last-minute touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress for the winning touchdown and a 17-14 Super Bowl victory. Considering the arrogance of this New England franchise along with their casual belittling of the video-taping scandal that showed them to be cheating in order to give them an unfair advantage over their opponent, I felt that it was perfectly fitting that their so-called "perfect" season was taken away from them with just a few seconds to go! Time to break out the champagne, Dolphins! As for the Giants, I don't think I'll ever forget the great favor this franchise did for me in defeating the Patriots. I'm probably going to end up rooting for them in years to come, even when they're lousy (the true mark of a loyal fan).
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Olbermann Vs. Hannity
From time to time, I'll watch some of the different cable news stations at night. There is a wide variety of "hosts" for stations like CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News, and MSNBC. Almost all of them happen to be conservative. The most blatantly hard-line conservative of these has to be Fox's Sean Hannity. But there is one unabashed liberal as well: MSNBC's Keith Olbermann (I consider Alan Colmes on Fox to be more of a centrist than a liberal). So I thought it would be interesting to compare the two.
Being generally a little on the left side of the center politically, I think it's only fair to lay that out when making my comparisons. Be that as it may, overshadowing the fact that he is one of a rare breed (liberal commentator), Keith Olbermann is, to me, a thoroughly obnoxious character. His segment titled "Today's Worst Person in the World" is actually the highlight of his show! He seems to derive some kind of perverse pleasure in deriding irrelevant personalities like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton for several minutes at a time as well. And his bombastic "open letters" to President Bush are so loaded with spite that it's hard for me not to break out in laughter at his style. But my biggest criticism of Olbermann is that he seems to only interview like-minded liberals on his show and not conservatives. So, very often you'll see a split screen with Olbermann running his mouth about something and his always-agreeing guest in the right screen, smiling smugly and nodding his or her head like one of those old bobbing dog decorations. This is really sad, since I happen to agree with this host on most of his opinions!
Sean Hannity, on the other hand, is equally as obnoxious as Keith Olbermann, but in different ways. Most of my exposure to him is in the format of his syndicated radio show, although I've seen him at times on TV. His line with callers is "You're a great American", which apparently has something to do with being a conservative (apparently liberals must conversely be BAD Americans). But whenever a caller reveals disagreement with Hannity or shows a liberal bent, Hannity morphs into a rude rant, frequently interrupting the caller and barraging him or her with insulting name-calling in the manner of an interrogation, not a conversation. That's for the callers (us "little people" out there). To Hannity's credit (and this is what sets him apart from Olbermann), he invites and treats with respect guests of all sides of the issues that he's discussing. And then you can get a real debate on some topics. I've yet to see Olbermann get someone on his show with whom he was strongly at odds with. That isn't to say that one hasn't accidently slipped through from time to time, though.
Both Sean Hannity and Keith Olbermann have a problem, as I see it. And it is basically that, if you agree with them, then you're a good guy. And if you disagree with them, then you're either bad or stupid. I would much prefer to watch someone like Chris Matthews, who is not only very knowledgeable and fair in his on-air dealings with others, but also has a terrific sense of humor. The "humor" of Sean Hannity and Keith Olbermann is a nasty, cruel, mean sort of thing which is derived from insulting and ridiculing those with whom they differ. But this kind of style apparently sits well with many "Great Americans" out there, since these two hosts seem to be among the most popular as well.
Being generally a little on the left side of the center politically, I think it's only fair to lay that out when making my comparisons. Be that as it may, overshadowing the fact that he is one of a rare breed (liberal commentator), Keith Olbermann is, to me, a thoroughly obnoxious character. His segment titled "Today's Worst Person in the World" is actually the highlight of his show! He seems to derive some kind of perverse pleasure in deriding irrelevant personalities like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton for several minutes at a time as well. And his bombastic "open letters" to President Bush are so loaded with spite that it's hard for me not to break out in laughter at his style. But my biggest criticism of Olbermann is that he seems to only interview like-minded liberals on his show and not conservatives. So, very often you'll see a split screen with Olbermann running his mouth about something and his always-agreeing guest in the right screen, smiling smugly and nodding his or her head like one of those old bobbing dog decorations. This is really sad, since I happen to agree with this host on most of his opinions!
Sean Hannity, on the other hand, is equally as obnoxious as Keith Olbermann, but in different ways. Most of my exposure to him is in the format of his syndicated radio show, although I've seen him at times on TV. His line with callers is "You're a great American", which apparently has something to do with being a conservative (apparently liberals must conversely be BAD Americans). But whenever a caller reveals disagreement with Hannity or shows a liberal bent, Hannity morphs into a rude rant, frequently interrupting the caller and barraging him or her with insulting name-calling in the manner of an interrogation, not a conversation. That's for the callers (us "little people" out there). To Hannity's credit (and this is what sets him apart from Olbermann), he invites and treats with respect guests of all sides of the issues that he's discussing. And then you can get a real debate on some topics. I've yet to see Olbermann get someone on his show with whom he was strongly at odds with. That isn't to say that one hasn't accidently slipped through from time to time, though.
Both Sean Hannity and Keith Olbermann have a problem, as I see it. And it is basically that, if you agree with them, then you're a good guy. And if you disagree with them, then you're either bad or stupid. I would much prefer to watch someone like Chris Matthews, who is not only very knowledgeable and fair in his on-air dealings with others, but also has a terrific sense of humor. The "humor" of Sean Hannity and Keith Olbermann is a nasty, cruel, mean sort of thing which is derived from insulting and ridiculing those with whom they differ. But this kind of style apparently sits well with many "Great Americans" out there, since these two hosts seem to be among the most popular as well.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Musings Outside Starbucks
Once again (at this writing), I am sitting outside of a Gainesville Starbucks during the mid-afternoon. This one is on Newberry Road and is probably the best-run Starbucks in Gainesville. The manager was chatting one morning with some joggers who happened to work at LifeSouth (a non-profit blood-donation organization), which is just down the road a little bit. One thing led to another and the suggestion was made that Gainesville hold its own marathon race. And from this conversation eventually came the result that LifeSouth is sponsoring a marathon here in Gainesville soon on Sunday, February 24. The running course crisscrosses all over Gainesville, and the race should be fun to watch. A five kilometer (about 3.1 miles) race is scheduled to accompany it as well. I'm considering whether or not to enter it (the 5K race, that is). But I first have to get used to running on outdoor surfaces, not just on a treadmill like I've been doing. This may take more time than I have to prepare for that race, so I may just pass it up for a future race. I would like to know where the 5K course will be, though.
The weather here this afternoon is beautiful, slightly cool in the shade with a moderate wind and no clouds in the sky. Something tells me, though, that this idyllic setting won't last too much longer, and, as they like to say on The Weather Channel, conditions will eventually deteriorate. This has to be one of the mildest winters I've ever experienced in Gainesville. And being someone who likes cool, dry weather, I feel vaguely cheated out of something I've come to expect each year. The plants around me seem to sense the impending end of winter already (and this posting will ironically occur on Groundhog Day), with a fine film of pollen covering my car to greet me this morning. Over the past few years, I had been increasingly suffering from pollen allergies. But then I started doing something that, on the surface, didn't make sense: I began to spend more time outdoors where the pollen was and less time in the air-conditioning. Whether or not this reversed my allergies or something else did, the fact is that this past year marks an improvement with my allergies. I wonder if anyone out there has had similiar experiences.
Well, I guess I'd better get up and head for work now. Too bad I don't have a "reset" button that I can push tomorrow morning to get today's weather again!
The weather here this afternoon is beautiful, slightly cool in the shade with a moderate wind and no clouds in the sky. Something tells me, though, that this idyllic setting won't last too much longer, and, as they like to say on The Weather Channel, conditions will eventually deteriorate. This has to be one of the mildest winters I've ever experienced in Gainesville. And being someone who likes cool, dry weather, I feel vaguely cheated out of something I've come to expect each year. The plants around me seem to sense the impending end of winter already (and this posting will ironically occur on Groundhog Day), with a fine film of pollen covering my car to greet me this morning. Over the past few years, I had been increasingly suffering from pollen allergies. But then I started doing something that, on the surface, didn't make sense: I began to spend more time outdoors where the pollen was and less time in the air-conditioning. Whether or not this reversed my allergies or something else did, the fact is that this past year marks an improvement with my allergies. I wonder if anyone out there has had similiar experiences.
Well, I guess I'd better get up and head for work now. Too bad I don't have a "reset" button that I can push tomorrow morning to get today's weather again!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Presidential Campaign Now
With all of the talk about how badly Florida had goofed in moving its presidential primary up one week (and suffering penalties from the two parties), it is pretty surprising to me to note that, on the heels of that primary, the race has now suddenly crystallized into a two-candidate struggle in each party (I put Mike Huckabee way back in third for the Republicans). Most "experts" had expected Republican Rudy Giuliani and Democrat John Edwards to stay in the race at least until after the Super Tuesday primaries on February 5. But right after Florida, both bowed out with Giuliani turning around and endorsing John McCain. Edwards is apparently guarding his options, waiting to see whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama prevails next week. I'd be surprised if he didn't end up endorsing Obama, barring a landslide Super Tuesday victory for Clinton.
I'm a little bit miffed at how much some in the media are making of the campaign "fight" between Clinton and Obama. Of course, they're going to stress their own perceived strong points and the other's perceived weaknesses. That's not dirty, grudge politics, though. It's just good, effective "hardball" campaigning (with a nod to MSNBC's excellent Chris Matthews). I remember back in 1980, just before the presidential election between incumbent Jimmy Carter and challenger Ronald Reagan, the press suddenly began relaying accusations of "meanness" at Carter. Which I never could figure out. The same sort of struggle is going on with the Republicans as well, with McCain and Romney really starting to tear at each other's records. I say "GOOD" to all of this! This is the time that we need to sort through the candidates' pasts and get a read on their true opinions and character. After all, whomever we elect to be the next president is going to be in there for the next four (and possibly eight) years. And he or she will have great sweeping powers, most notably the power of war vs. peace, as well as the future composition of the United States Supreme Court. Let's try to figure them out now before it's too late!
I'm a little bit miffed at how much some in the media are making of the campaign "fight" between Clinton and Obama. Of course, they're going to stress their own perceived strong points and the other's perceived weaknesses. That's not dirty, grudge politics, though. It's just good, effective "hardball" campaigning (with a nod to MSNBC's excellent Chris Matthews). I remember back in 1980, just before the presidential election between incumbent Jimmy Carter and challenger Ronald Reagan, the press suddenly began relaying accusations of "meanness" at Carter. Which I never could figure out. The same sort of struggle is going on with the Republicans as well, with McCain and Romney really starting to tear at each other's records. I say "GOOD" to all of this! This is the time that we need to sort through the candidates' pasts and get a read on their true opinions and character. After all, whomever we elect to be the next president is going to be in there for the next four (and possibly eight) years. And he or she will have great sweeping powers, most notably the power of war vs. peace, as well as the future composition of the United States Supreme Court. Let's try to figure them out now before it's too late!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Favorite Songs of 1988
Two albums in 1988 produced several good songs: Now and Zen by Robert Plant and Rattle and Hum by U2. Plant's extremely Led Zeppelin-like Tall Cool One got everyone talking (unsuccessfully) about a reunion of the survivors of that great band. Desire (with the Bo Diddley beat) and Bullet the Blue Sky (a searing musical etching of the American landscape) were more hard-flavored hits that U2 scored with in 1988. Van Halen, with their "new" singer Sammy Hagar, also had two hits I liked in Feels So Good and Finish What Ya Started. My all-time favorite John Mellencamp tune came out this year with his wistful Check It Out. Terence Trent D'Arby sang his brooding, romantic Sign Your Name. Ex-Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle's best solo work to me was her 1988 Circle in the Sand. Bobby McFerrin had his pop moment of glory (before moving on to other achievements) with his upbeat, iconic Don't Worry Be Happy. My favorite Michael Jackson post-Thriller song was his monument to conscience, Man In the Mirror. INXS tore up the airwaves with their rousing New Sensation and the loud romantic ballad Never Tear Us Apart (both with excellent accompanying videos). George Harrison's track This is Love, off his comeback Cloud Nine album, was my favorite of his since his You in 1976. Edie Brickell and New Bohemians brought back memories of the Greenwich Village scene with their kooky What I Am. My second and third favorite Bruce Springsteen songs (after the later Streets of Philadelphia) were Tunnel of Love and One Step Up, respectively. Guns and Roses had their signature "we're the rowdiest of the rowdiest" hit in Welcome to the Jungle (with an apparently heavy influence from Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love). The Escape Club looked ahead to the '90's with their catchy dance hit The Wild Wild West. My #2 favorite song from 1988 (as I lived it) was the incomparable Tracy Chapman's gut-wrenching tale of a young woman's hopes and ultimate disillusionment, Fast Car. And my favorite of that year was the unlikely collaboration between the Pet Shop Boys and the great, late Dusty Springfield to produce their masterpiece What Have I Done to Deserve This.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Reading On the Eights: 1/30
I divided my reading for the past eight weeks between science-fiction and Stephen King works. And began my first Mary Higgins Clark novel. As for the sci-fi, I finished reading the second of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, titled The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. The mini-series I saw a few years back ended where this book ended. But there are at least three more Hitchhiker books to go, so I should have more fun in the future reading on in this series (not already knowing what is going to happen). I read the next of Isaac Asimov's Robot Novels, titled The Robots of Dawn. It was longer than the others and had some pretty tedious sections, but the knockout ending was worth the reading. And I've just started reading his fourth (and last) of this series: Robots and Empire.
I continued reading Stephen King novels by getting through two of his lengthy works: Needful Things and Bag of Bones. Needful Things was basically a retelling of Ray Bradbury's great Something Wicked This Way Comes in a Maine setting, using some old characters from King stories like Cujo, The Dark Half, and Insomnia. To me, this novel was a great indictment against human nature and how people can become hooked on things to a degree that can lead to delusions and tragedy. Bag of Bones was another "Maine" novel that shifted its emphasis from one theme to a completely different one as the story progressed. Definitely worth the time I put in reading it! I've also begun Stephen King's Dark Tower series, having read The Gunslinger (Volume 1) and being now about two thirds of the way through his second volume (The Drawing of the Three). The Dark Tower started out slow (vaguely resembling Clint Eastwood's old spaghetti westerns), but it has now picked up a lot of steam! My interest in The Dark Tower was stimulated by references to it in two other Stephen King novels (Insomnia and Hearts in Atlantis) and a short story (The Little Sisters of Eluria from his collection Everything's Eventual ). Also, I began reading his early short novel (written as Richard Bachman) The Long Walk. It seems to have a science-fiction flavor to it so far.
And finally, I tried a completely different author with Mary Higgins Clark and her novel Nighttime is My Time. I still haven't reached the halfway point in it, but it's quite clear that Clark has a very different style to her presentation than Stephen King!
I continued reading Stephen King novels by getting through two of his lengthy works: Needful Things and Bag of Bones. Needful Things was basically a retelling of Ray Bradbury's great Something Wicked This Way Comes in a Maine setting, using some old characters from King stories like Cujo, The Dark Half, and Insomnia. To me, this novel was a great indictment against human nature and how people can become hooked on things to a degree that can lead to delusions and tragedy. Bag of Bones was another "Maine" novel that shifted its emphasis from one theme to a completely different one as the story progressed. Definitely worth the time I put in reading it! I've also begun Stephen King's Dark Tower series, having read The Gunslinger (Volume 1) and being now about two thirds of the way through his second volume (The Drawing of the Three). The Dark Tower started out slow (vaguely resembling Clint Eastwood's old spaghetti westerns), but it has now picked up a lot of steam! My interest in The Dark Tower was stimulated by references to it in two other Stephen King novels (Insomnia and Hearts in Atlantis) and a short story (The Little Sisters of Eluria from his collection Everything's Eventual ). Also, I began reading his early short novel (written as Richard Bachman) The Long Walk. It seems to have a science-fiction flavor to it so far.
And finally, I tried a completely different author with Mary Higgins Clark and her novel Nighttime is My Time. I still haven't reached the halfway point in it, but it's quite clear that Clark has a very different style to her presentation than Stephen King!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Walking Works
I am a walker. Whenever I really want to get down to some serious thinking about something, I will often go out and pace around. And it helps, besides relaxing me. To be sure, I don't walk anywhere near to the degree that I used to in years past (maybe I don't think as much, either). In "olden days", I would often simply walk to wherever it was I wanted to go, even if it was several miles away. Usually, though, I would take the longest walks during periods when the weather was mild or cold. I remember one winter in early 1978 when I often walked for hours at a time (back when I was a student at the University of Florida).
For the sake of exercise, there is nothing to compare with walking for its combination of a low impact activity with benefits to the body in so many areas (especially cardiovascular). And one can walk anywhere, so it doesn't take any special equipment or location (although I notice quite a few people using the local YMCA to walk on their treadmills). Walking is also something you can do with someone else without getting bogged down in athletic competition (something that has happened to a degree with running). Nor do you have to dress any particular way to do it. To me, just walking outside for a while and vigorously breathing the outdoors air while looking around at the scenery I'm passing makes any hint of drudgery commonly associated with exercise disappear.
As I've written before, I am working at becoming a better runner, and have experienced some moderate success with this. But I don't run every day. To fill in the gap, simply walking sounds like the prescription for me! How about you?
For the sake of exercise, there is nothing to compare with walking for its combination of a low impact activity with benefits to the body in so many areas (especially cardiovascular). And one can walk anywhere, so it doesn't take any special equipment or location (although I notice quite a few people using the local YMCA to walk on their treadmills). Walking is also something you can do with someone else without getting bogged down in athletic competition (something that has happened to a degree with running). Nor do you have to dress any particular way to do it. To me, just walking outside for a while and vigorously breathing the outdoors air while looking around at the scenery I'm passing makes any hint of drudgery commonly associated with exercise disappear.
As I've written before, I am working at becoming a better runner, and have experienced some moderate success with this. But I don't run every day. To fill in the gap, simply walking sounds like the prescription for me! How about you?
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday Newsbreak: 1/28
--We're coming up to the Florida Primary on January 29. Unlike in Michigan earlier this month, there will be a full slate of Democratic candidates on the ballot. Even though Florida will be barred from seating its delegation at the party convention, I am looking forward to voting. For Barack Obama. The Republicans are only penalizing Florida for its early primary by cutting their delegation in half, and their candidates, unlike the Democrats, have been covering the state. It looks as if it's going to be a down-to-the-wire duel between John McCain and Mitt Romney. Rudy Giuliani seems to be fading badly, and maybe it's just as well since he doesn't seem to have his heart completely in the campaign. Mike Huckabee seems to be settling into the Republican version of a John Edwards, playing the role of a Southern, more populist candidate than the others (and being pretty much the third-place candidate as well).
--On Tuesday, not only do we vote our choices for president in Florida, but there are other issues as well. Statewide, there is a vote on whether to add a state constitutional amendment increasing the Homestead Exemption for property taxes. Also, locally here in Gainesville, we have three city commission races. I'm looking forward to my ritual of going to my polling place (a fire station) and filling in the bubbles!
--There is a movement to reconsider the use of plastic bags, especially with grocery shopping. They take too long to break down, are rarely recycled, and can pose a hazard to aquatic animal life. I'm sure that a better system can be instituted that is more environmentally friendly. Even if the plastic bags don't get replaced with something else, the least that can be done is allow for residents to have their old plastic bags picked up separately as part of their recycling (something my hometown has yet to do despite all of its pro-environment posturing). I have noticed some local stores offering recycling facilities for used bags, but for recycling of plastic bags to really take hold and be significant, it needs to be available from home when other recyclable items are picked up.
--This time next week, we'll know who the new National Football League Super Bowl Champion is, for the Super Bowl is to be played this coming Sunday evening. At stake is perfection for the 18-0 New England Patriots. But I think that New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is pretty tired of always having to play second fiddle to his more famous and honored brother Peyton, who led his Indianapolis Colts to the championship last year. I'm pulling for Eli and the Giants, but I also recognize that it will be an uphill fight. Prediction: New England Patriots 38, New York Giants 20.
--Stephen King is coming out with his new book Duma Key. Since he's spent a lot of time over the past few years here in Florida, I was wondering whether he'd write a novel set here as well (seeing how fond he is of writing about his northern home state of Maine). Faster than King is writing new novels (which is pretty doggone fast), I am reading his old ones. Sometime this year (or next) I should "catch up"!
--On Tuesday, not only do we vote our choices for president in Florida, but there are other issues as well. Statewide, there is a vote on whether to add a state constitutional amendment increasing the Homestead Exemption for property taxes. Also, locally here in Gainesville, we have three city commission races. I'm looking forward to my ritual of going to my polling place (a fire station) and filling in the bubbles!
--There is a movement to reconsider the use of plastic bags, especially with grocery shopping. They take too long to break down, are rarely recycled, and can pose a hazard to aquatic animal life. I'm sure that a better system can be instituted that is more environmentally friendly. Even if the plastic bags don't get replaced with something else, the least that can be done is allow for residents to have their old plastic bags picked up separately as part of their recycling (something my hometown has yet to do despite all of its pro-environment posturing). I have noticed some local stores offering recycling facilities for used bags, but for recycling of plastic bags to really take hold and be significant, it needs to be available from home when other recyclable items are picked up.
--This time next week, we'll know who the new National Football League Super Bowl Champion is, for the Super Bowl is to be played this coming Sunday evening. At stake is perfection for the 18-0 New England Patriots. But I think that New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is pretty tired of always having to play second fiddle to his more famous and honored brother Peyton, who led his Indianapolis Colts to the championship last year. I'm pulling for Eli and the Giants, but I also recognize that it will be an uphill fight. Prediction: New England Patriots 38, New York Giants 20.
--Stephen King is coming out with his new book Duma Key. Since he's spent a lot of time over the past few years here in Florida, I was wondering whether he'd write a novel set here as well (seeing how fond he is of writing about his northern home state of Maine). Faster than King is writing new novels (which is pretty doggone fast), I am reading his old ones. Sometime this year (or next) I should "catch up"!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Conversational Stability
Whenever I find myself in a free-flowing conversation with another (and not with a specific, preset topic established), the conversation tends to flow in one of three directions: about me, about my "co-talker", or about a subject external to both of us.
A conversation, I have found, can be a tricky thing. For what may seem to be a stable topic of discourse for one may be a rather unstable, bothersome area for another. The two sides either must be in sync with each other regarding what is being discussed, or they must somehow negotiate to informally divide the time spent talking between the two parties, to give each a turn being in his or her "comfort zone".
Personally, I feel the most comfortable talking with others about extraneous subjects, like the news, weather, or sports, than I do about myself. To be perfectly honest, I don't particularly care that much about what others outside my family are doing with their lives, and I likewise don't care too much to share what's going on in my life with them. So the folks that I tend to gravitate toward talking with informally are the ones who feel comfortable talking "outside themselves". But I have come to learn that there is an enormous number of people in the world who are utterly incapable of thinking outside themselves, much less talking on that level! To them, everything has to be brought down to their personal level, and if not, then it isn't worthy of consideration. With people like these, I either find myself being probed to irritation about my personal life or bored to death by their incessant chatter about themselves. But if I bring up something to them that happened in the news, it goes through one of their ears and out the other.
I like give-and-take with conversations, with the two sides maturely recognizing the need for giving (speaking) and taking (listening with expressed interest). Often there will be the ideal matchup of a "big talker" who finds a "big listener" to pour his or her heart out to. But I find it demeaning and insulting to be around someone who is only interested in expressing their views and experiences to me while giving me little or no opportunity to inject some of myself into the conversation (other than the mandatory cues "uh-huh","yes", "oh", and the like, to show that I'm still listening). It thus appears that there are quite a few people out there who feel that their lives are the only ones with significance, while people like me are only out there in a "supporting role" to bounce their precious opinions off of.
Dale Carnegie, you may already know, wrote a book several decades ago titled How to Win Friends and Influence People. Well, winning friends and influencing people may seem like an awfully hefty project, but how about me just learning to be a better conversationalist? Some of Carnegie's book goes down that road as well. The most important elements that he emphasizes are to express genuine interest in the other person and to emphasize the positive over the negative. Awfully simple, isn't it? But yet, how many people (including myself) actually apply these self-evident rules?!!
A conversation, I have found, can be a tricky thing. For what may seem to be a stable topic of discourse for one may be a rather unstable, bothersome area for another. The two sides either must be in sync with each other regarding what is being discussed, or they must somehow negotiate to informally divide the time spent talking between the two parties, to give each a turn being in his or her "comfort zone".
Personally, I feel the most comfortable talking with others about extraneous subjects, like the news, weather, or sports, than I do about myself. To be perfectly honest, I don't particularly care that much about what others outside my family are doing with their lives, and I likewise don't care too much to share what's going on in my life with them. So the folks that I tend to gravitate toward talking with informally are the ones who feel comfortable talking "outside themselves". But I have come to learn that there is an enormous number of people in the world who are utterly incapable of thinking outside themselves, much less talking on that level! To them, everything has to be brought down to their personal level, and if not, then it isn't worthy of consideration. With people like these, I either find myself being probed to irritation about my personal life or bored to death by their incessant chatter about themselves. But if I bring up something to them that happened in the news, it goes through one of their ears and out the other.
I like give-and-take with conversations, with the two sides maturely recognizing the need for giving (speaking) and taking (listening with expressed interest). Often there will be the ideal matchup of a "big talker" who finds a "big listener" to pour his or her heart out to. But I find it demeaning and insulting to be around someone who is only interested in expressing their views and experiences to me while giving me little or no opportunity to inject some of myself into the conversation (other than the mandatory cues "uh-huh","yes", "oh", and the like, to show that I'm still listening). It thus appears that there are quite a few people out there who feel that their lives are the only ones with significance, while people like me are only out there in a "supporting role" to bounce their precious opinions off of.
Dale Carnegie, you may already know, wrote a book several decades ago titled How to Win Friends and Influence People. Well, winning friends and influencing people may seem like an awfully hefty project, but how about me just learning to be a better conversationalist? Some of Carnegie's book goes down that road as well. The most important elements that he emphasizes are to express genuine interest in the other person and to emphasize the positive over the negative. Awfully simple, isn't it? But yet, how many people (including myself) actually apply these self-evident rules?!!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Fredo Corleone and Agent Smith
[Contains some plot spoilers for The Godfather Part II and The Matrix]
There may not be two so fundamentally different, but in a paradoxical way, similar, characters in big screen history as The Godfather's Fredo Corleone (masterfully played by the late John Cazale) and The Matrix's "program" Agent Smith (equally well-played by Hugo Weaving, also of Elrond-in-Lord of the Rings fame). Fredo was the hedonistic, irresponsible, childish man in the Godfather who was deemed by Don Vito Corleone to be too irresponsible to pass the leadership of his family to. Fredo was a true believer in what I have come to term "the high life": in order to truly "live", one has to plunge willy-nilly into high stakes gambling, urban night life, promiscuous sex, conspicuous consumption, and serious drug use (in Fredo's case, alcohol). With the assumption that this is the sort of thing that any normal person would engage in given the opportunity. Also, Fredo would mistrust the very people (like his brother Michael) who really looked after him while allowing smooth-talking, slimy strangers (like Johnny Ola and Hyman Roth) to walk all over him. And he would always direct his anger at those who held his best interests at heart. Ultimately, this would lead to his own downfall.
Agent Smith was a security program installed within the Matrix to fight humans who had left this deceptive "virtual life" to establish their own place in the real world in opposition to the machine-run world. Near the movie's climax, Agent Smith had captured Morpheus, one of the good guys, and was explaining to him the origins of the Matrix. He said that, in the beginning, the Matrix was designed to be a happy place, where the inhabitants could enjoy their lives and have whatever they wanted. But nobody, it turned out, would accept the reality of such a framework, and that first attempt failed. Instead, a version of the Matrix, which did work, was installed, based upon the notion that humans defined their worldview around their own misery (There is an implied allegory here to the Garden of Eden and man's subsequent struggles on Earth). Agent Smith, if he (it) had actually been alive, would have understood the paradox of Fredo's overt never-ending quest for pleasure and covert resentment and misery.
Over my life, I have known people who are similar in ways to Fredo Corleone. Although they may live out their lives in a very conventional manner, events may suddenly break down to the point where they have the opportunity to grasp their long-held-but-inhibited dream of living the"high life". Often, if not fought successfully against by those who care for them, they will succumb to this and eventually, like Fredo, stumble and fall (while regarding the ones who really love them as the ENEMY, even to the point of betraying them). And like Fredo, while turning their backs on friends and family, they will often let con artists and predators take them for everything they have without any scrutiny whatsoever!
While opposites on the surface, Fredo Corleone and Agent Smith share the same limiting dichotomy of belief: either one lives a life based on compulsively pursuing pleasure and material gain, or one must live a life based on misery and suffering. This, to me, is a false choice. Each of us has, within ourselves, the ability to choose for ourselves the things that will bring us pleasure, and they don't need to correspond to what others in society think (like the so-called "high life"). A normal, sane, and responsible adult human being will have learned that life is a mixture of both pleasure and suffering, both of which have value, but neither of which should be pursued or avoided relentlessly. For survival depends on both!
There may not be two so fundamentally different, but in a paradoxical way, similar, characters in big screen history as The Godfather's Fredo Corleone (masterfully played by the late John Cazale) and The Matrix's "program" Agent Smith (equally well-played by Hugo Weaving, also of Elrond-in-Lord of the Rings fame). Fredo was the hedonistic, irresponsible, childish man in the Godfather who was deemed by Don Vito Corleone to be too irresponsible to pass the leadership of his family to. Fredo was a true believer in what I have come to term "the high life": in order to truly "live", one has to plunge willy-nilly into high stakes gambling, urban night life, promiscuous sex, conspicuous consumption, and serious drug use (in Fredo's case, alcohol). With the assumption that this is the sort of thing that any normal person would engage in given the opportunity. Also, Fredo would mistrust the very people (like his brother Michael) who really looked after him while allowing smooth-talking, slimy strangers (like Johnny Ola and Hyman Roth) to walk all over him. And he would always direct his anger at those who held his best interests at heart. Ultimately, this would lead to his own downfall.
Agent Smith was a security program installed within the Matrix to fight humans who had left this deceptive "virtual life" to establish their own place in the real world in opposition to the machine-run world. Near the movie's climax, Agent Smith had captured Morpheus, one of the good guys, and was explaining to him the origins of the Matrix. He said that, in the beginning, the Matrix was designed to be a happy place, where the inhabitants could enjoy their lives and have whatever they wanted. But nobody, it turned out, would accept the reality of such a framework, and that first attempt failed. Instead, a version of the Matrix, which did work, was installed, based upon the notion that humans defined their worldview around their own misery (There is an implied allegory here to the Garden of Eden and man's subsequent struggles on Earth). Agent Smith, if he (it) had actually been alive, would have understood the paradox of Fredo's overt never-ending quest for pleasure and covert resentment and misery.
Over my life, I have known people who are similar in ways to Fredo Corleone. Although they may live out their lives in a very conventional manner, events may suddenly break down to the point where they have the opportunity to grasp their long-held-but-inhibited dream of living the"high life". Often, if not fought successfully against by those who care for them, they will succumb to this and eventually, like Fredo, stumble and fall (while regarding the ones who really love them as the ENEMY, even to the point of betraying them). And like Fredo, while turning their backs on friends and family, they will often let con artists and predators take them for everything they have without any scrutiny whatsoever!
While opposites on the surface, Fredo Corleone and Agent Smith share the same limiting dichotomy of belief: either one lives a life based on compulsively pursuing pleasure and material gain, or one must live a life based on misery and suffering. This, to me, is a false choice. Each of us has, within ourselves, the ability to choose for ourselves the things that will bring us pleasure, and they don't need to correspond to what others in society think (like the so-called "high life"). A normal, sane, and responsible adult human being will have learned that life is a mixture of both pleasure and suffering, both of which have value, but neither of which should be pursued or avoided relentlessly. For survival depends on both!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Sick Happens
I am currently on antibiotics, recovering from a severe sinus infection/viral attack (they all seem severe to me) that sidelined me from work for Tuesday and Wednesday. I am fortunate to work in a place that provides cumulative sick leave throughout one's career (a benefit won through collective bargaining between my union and management). And I've been accruing it since I began working here in 1987. I've also used it very sparingly, and probably have one of the highest accrued totals of sick leave hours among those working there as long as I have. As management often correctly points out, my cumulative sick leave serves as a kind of insurance policy against more long-term sicknesses or disabilities. And so I only use it strictly for times (like this) in which I am truly incapacitated for work (and likely to infect others as well). And that usually means that when I am ill enough (in my estimation) to call in sick, that also means that I should see a doctor for it. And I did, getting my prescription as well as a doctor's note confirming the illness for my bosses at work. But here's where I diverge from management regarding sick leave. Even though I obviously use my sick leave sparingly and was also obviously sick this time (with documentation), I am bound to be taken aside by someone in management a few days or weeks from now and be lectured to about using my sick leave wisely (most likely by someone who calls in sick more often than me). And I suppose that, when that happens (as it has in the past), I will ask to speak to my union steward! I understand that there are co-workers who might abuse the sick leave benefit, calling in just to get time off. So management is within their rights to try to curb excesses in this area. But there is a big difference between being strict about sick leave usage and being unreasonable. That being said, I am glad to be able to have sick leave to use (wisely and sparingly). But then again, that's one of the reasons I chose to work where I do in the first place (which is a pretty good job)!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Favorite Songs of 1989
In the year 1989, I went through a country and western music phase when I listened to a local Gainesville country station (which now plays light jazz). And there were several good tunes that I heard then. Rosanne Cash made an excellent cover of her father's (Johnny Cash) Tennessee Flat Top Box. Californian Dwight Yoakam had a hit I liked in the humorous, sweet I Got You (To See Me Through). Michael Martin Murphey's sad I'm Gonna Miss You Girl was my favorite of his. And That's My Job (originally from 1987), by Conway Twitty, has to be one of the greatest tearjerkers of all time, not just for 1989 (when I heard it).
But I listened mostly to rock/pop in 1989. Young MC and Tone Loc came out with good rap songs in Bust a Move and Funky Cold Medina, respectively. The hair metal band Warrant had their best tune (to me) in The Down Boys (which resembled Bye Bye Love by the Cars). Rod Stewart showed his mellow side in the beautiful Downtown Train. Stevie Nicks had one of my favorites of hers in the grossly underplayed A Long Way to Go. Aerosmith hit the height of their resurgent popularity with their loud and titillating Love in an Elevator. XTC's Mayor of Simpleton was a fun-sounding tune with a compelling harmony. Janet Jackson introduced her Rhythm Nation 1814 album with the first single Miss You Much. This period, to me, was the pinnacle of her career. Neil Young, with a big chip on his shoulder from George H.W. Bush's election as President, put out a very critical, sarcastic, and effective protest song with his Rockin' in the Free World. The supergroup Traveling Wilburys, featuring George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Roy Orbison, were very popular on the radio in 1989. My favorites of theirs were End of the Line, Margarita, and my top favorite song of 1989 (back then): Handle With Care. Tom Petty excelled with his stubborn I Won't Back Down and the rollicking Running Down a Dream. My #2 song from 1989 was by Tears For Fears for their tribute to the Beatles and the 1967 Summer of Love: Sowing the Seeds of Love. The video for it was also very, very entertaining (and clever).
But I listened mostly to rock/pop in 1989. Young MC and Tone Loc came out with good rap songs in Bust a Move and Funky Cold Medina, respectively. The hair metal band Warrant had their best tune (to me) in The Down Boys (which resembled Bye Bye Love by the Cars). Rod Stewart showed his mellow side in the beautiful Downtown Train. Stevie Nicks had one of my favorites of hers in the grossly underplayed A Long Way to Go. Aerosmith hit the height of their resurgent popularity with their loud and titillating Love in an Elevator. XTC's Mayor of Simpleton was a fun-sounding tune with a compelling harmony. Janet Jackson introduced her Rhythm Nation 1814 album with the first single Miss You Much. This period, to me, was the pinnacle of her career. Neil Young, with a big chip on his shoulder from George H.W. Bush's election as President, put out a very critical, sarcastic, and effective protest song with his Rockin' in the Free World. The supergroup Traveling Wilburys, featuring George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Roy Orbison, were very popular on the radio in 1989. My favorites of theirs were End of the Line, Margarita, and my top favorite song of 1989 (back then): Handle With Care. Tom Petty excelled with his stubborn I Won't Back Down and the rollicking Running Down a Dream. My #2 song from 1989 was by Tears For Fears for their tribute to the Beatles and the 1967 Summer of Love: Sowing the Seeds of Love. The video for it was also very, very entertaining (and clever).
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Only Human
Not too long ago, I heard someone make a plea to a group that he was addressing to the effect that people who come to him with grievances would not be so overtly hostile. After all, he was only human, with feelings like everyone else. And while I agreed and sympathized with him, his invocation of his own humanity gave me some food for thought. Maybe you've heard Billy Joel's old mid-1980s hit Only Human, where he states "You're SUPPOSED to make mistakes!" After all, we all know about "human nature", which seems to be the disposition of people to take the easiest, least painful way out of a bad situation (or to a good situation), even if it involves behavior against others. But to be "humane" seems to go against this human nature, since there is obviously a more altruistic principle involved: compassion for others, beyond oneself. Humanism is a philosophical movement which, at its purest form, is a defense of relatively powerless people against abuses from the powerful and the institutions they control, such as business, government, and religion. Although embraced by many who profess atheism, humanism itself actually embraces and elevates one of the most important creeds in Christianity: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In other words, regardless of the trappings of our wealth, positions, or power, we are each of us ultimately human, and as such must share an ethical responsibility with each other to care for each other, for the sake of the greater good of humanity. And this brings me back to the man at the beginning of this article who only asked to be treated like a human being. Just treat me, a human, as you (just another human) would want me to treat you would have expressed his sentiment more precisely.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Foreign Languages on the Eights: 1/22
I have continued to plod along with my textbook-study of Vietnamese (using Robert Quinn's Beginner's Vietnamese), although my progress has become a bit bogged down because of other distractions in my life. From time to time, I also watch the AZN Channel during the morning hours when they are showing the news in Vietnamese. There is also a kind of historical romance soap opera, dealing with traditional Chinese martial arts, called The Little Fairy, that is dubbed in Vietnamese with Chinese subtitles. It's interesting for me to watch this show, because I usually can't discern the meaning of what is being said in Vietnamese unless I read the Chinese at the bottom of the screen! Which brings me to a circular argument that I've been carrying on with myself for years: shouldn't I just concentrate on the most important language(s) to learn and leave the rest until later? Vietnamese, although personally very important to me (I've actually spoken it with others more than any language besides English), is secondary to other languages like Chinese, Russian, German. French, and Spanish, languages all of which I have a substantial knowledge in.
But I look at my age (51) and see the years ahead of me. Why not make things as interesting as possible? And Vietnamese is certainly a very interesting language. So, I'm still going to work on Vietnamese until I get through this textbook. And then I'll see where I want to go next. Also, I purchased a new MP3 and plan to download VOA broadcasts in Vietnamese, Chinese, Russian, French, and Spanish to listen to at various times. I'm still looking for a source for German (VOA doesn't broadcast in it), but this is probably due more to my ignorance of computers and the Internet than to a lack of German-language downloadable podcasts.
But I look at my age (51) and see the years ahead of me. Why not make things as interesting as possible? And Vietnamese is certainly a very interesting language. So, I'm still going to work on Vietnamese until I get through this textbook. And then I'll see where I want to go next. Also, I purchased a new MP3 and plan to download VOA broadcasts in Vietnamese, Chinese, Russian, French, and Spanish to listen to at various times. I'm still looking for a source for German (VOA doesn't broadcast in it), but this is probably due more to my ignorance of computers and the Internet than to a lack of German-language downloadable podcasts.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Monday Newsbreak: 1/21
--The presidential campaign season is now going on in full intensity. Unlike four years ago, when the nominees for both parties had been pretty much decided by this stage, both party races are wide open. There are a few stragglers who may be dropping out soon, such as Democrat John Edwards and Republican Fred Thompson. But then again, I'd be surprised if they didn't at least wait until after the results of Super Tuesday on February 5, when many states, including California, New York, and Georgia, will hold their primaries. My own hometown newspaper, The Gainesville Sun, yesterday endorsed John McCain and Barack Obama (both my choices as well) for the January 29 Florida primary.
--Today is officially Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, although his actual birthday was on January 15 last week. He would have been turning 79 had not murder cut short his mighty life at such a young age. What would Dr. King's take have been on various historical events had he lived? I'm thinking about things like men walking on the Moon, Watergate, Jimmy Carter's rise to the Presidency, the Reagan years, the two Iraq Wars, Bill Clinton's Presidency, and 9/11. But then again, Dr. King would naturally have had his own special influence on the flow of history, and the events which did occur might have gone in much different directions had this visionary for peaceful social progress been spared his cruel fate in April, 1968.
--The National Football League playoffs have now progressed to the point where we know who will be playing in this year's Super Bowl: the New England Patriots against the New York Giants. My preseason picks, Dallas and Denver, couldn't muster up the needed talent and clutch play to reach this stage. I'm just hoping for an exciting, close game, with the Giants coming out on top!
--Although we in Gainesville are currently experiencing relatively cold conditions for our area (highs in the upper 40's), this has been a pretty warm winter, all things considered. It's getting to be that, in our neck of the woods, the most crucial period of the year to be concerned about is the early spring and the amount of rainfall that we're getting then. That's because wildfires have plagued this area too often recently, due to severe dryness. This spring will mark the tenth anniversary of the terrible firestorms that swept through some northeastern Florida areas, especially in Volusia and Flagler Counties, but also including some of my Alachua County.
--Today is officially Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, although his actual birthday was on January 15 last week. He would have been turning 79 had not murder cut short his mighty life at such a young age. What would Dr. King's take have been on various historical events had he lived? I'm thinking about things like men walking on the Moon, Watergate, Jimmy Carter's rise to the Presidency, the Reagan years, the two Iraq Wars, Bill Clinton's Presidency, and 9/11. But then again, Dr. King would naturally have had his own special influence on the flow of history, and the events which did occur might have gone in much different directions had this visionary for peaceful social progress been spared his cruel fate in April, 1968.
--The National Football League playoffs have now progressed to the point where we know who will be playing in this year's Super Bowl: the New England Patriots against the New York Giants. My preseason picks, Dallas and Denver, couldn't muster up the needed talent and clutch play to reach this stage. I'm just hoping for an exciting, close game, with the Giants coming out on top!
--Although we in Gainesville are currently experiencing relatively cold conditions for our area (highs in the upper 40's), this has been a pretty warm winter, all things considered. It's getting to be that, in our neck of the woods, the most crucial period of the year to be concerned about is the early spring and the amount of rainfall that we're getting then. That's because wildfires have plagued this area too often recently, due to severe dryness. This spring will mark the tenth anniversary of the terrible firestorms that swept through some northeastern Florida areas, especially in Volusia and Flagler Counties, but also including some of my Alachua County.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Gators Basketball This Year
It's looks as if this year's edition of the University of Florida Gators Men's Basketball team will be very competitive after all, in spite of being dominated by freshmen and sophomores. They currently have a 16-3 overall record and are 3-1 within the tough Southeastern Conference, having just defeated divisional rival Kentucky in overtime, 81-70. Their only conference loss so far was a road game with ranked Mississippi, 89-87. Coach Billy Donovan is employing a three-guard system on this team, which is a bit out of the ordinary. Each of the starters are making their contributions and a name for themselves as well. They are: guards Nick Calathes, Walter Hodge, and Jai Lucas; forward Dan Werner; and center Marreese Speights. The Gators this year also have a very strong bench. The problem with their two other losses this year (to Florida State and Ohio State) was that, in each game, the entire team seemed to have a poor shooting day. As long as some teammates can step up for others who get cold with their shooting, Florida will continue their winning tradition. I think they are worthy of a Top 25 ranking, but are far from the national championship-calibre squads of the last two years. But the future looks very bright!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Scapegoating As Political Strategy
It is with great sadness that I feel the need to withdraw my support for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee for the Republican Presidential nomination. Mr. Huckabee has recently, in South Carolina, decided to lower himself into the mud pits of scapegoating while, at the same time expressing a desire to change the U.S. Constitution to conform to the Bible.
Huckabee is pushing hard for the "scapegoater" vote, and is emphasizing his desire to push through a Constitutional amendment to exclude gays from marriage. He rationalizes his position as wanting to save the institution of marriage (even though nearly half of all exclusively heterosexual marriages currently end in divorce in America). No, Huckabee said that he wasn't just picking on gays: the amendment would also exclude marriages between a man and a child, a man and an animal, or a man and three women (an inclusion that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann astutely pointed out was a bigoted dig at rival Mitt Romney's Mormon history). I'd like to ask Mr. Huckabee, since he thinks the Bible should be the basis for law here, whether the "preservation of marriage" amendment shouldn't also go to both prohibiting marriage between people of different faiths (strongly discouraged in the Good Book), and allowing the rich and powerful to have multiple wives (Kings David and Solomon among many others). And exactly whose interpretation of the Bible would the Constitution be changed to suit? Undoubtedly, to fundamentalist Baptist preacher Huckabee, it would be HIS interpretation.
Scapegoating gays who wanted to get married was very successfully used by the Republicans in 2004 to get Bush/Cheney reelected by placing a "marriage is only between a man and a woman' referendum on various state ballots (including the crucial swing state of Ohio). Suddenly, voters who couldn't care less about "trivial" issues like the exporting of jobs abroad, diminishing privacy rights, the Iraq War, or fighting terrorism stood up in large numbers (including many of the abovementioned divorced ones) to "save marriage" and keep homosexuals from getting married. This time around, the average Joe (or Sally) isn't as concerned about gays as they are about the new scapegoat for everything: undocumented Mexicans in this country. If there's crime, it's the illegal aliens' fault. If the economy falters, it's the illegal aliens' fault. If someone gets in front of them in line at the store or at the gasoline pump who looks Latino, it's the illegal aliens' fault. If they're out in public and hear people speaking Spanish and not English, it's the illegal aliens' fault. So most of the Republican candidates, with the notable exception of John McCain (to his credit), are dueling each other to see who can be the biggest demagogue on this issue. And this streak of meanness that I see people perk up and respond to in masses scares me a bit. So that's why I now give my backing to Arizona Senator John McCain for the Republican nomination. McCain has his own problematic positions on some issues, but he hasn't stooped to the low level that some of his rivals have. Reasonable people with differing opinions on difficult and volatile issues can often work together to find solutions to them which, although not necessarily the ones most desired by the different sides, nevertheless help to diffuse them instead of inflaming them. Civil unions for gays is one of these solutions that, at least in today's political climate, has been successfully instituted in some states. And I would like to suggest to others who are prone to scapegoating in dealing with their problems to look more within themselves for solutions and stop blaming other groups.
Huckabee is pushing hard for the "scapegoater" vote, and is emphasizing his desire to push through a Constitutional amendment to exclude gays from marriage. He rationalizes his position as wanting to save the institution of marriage (even though nearly half of all exclusively heterosexual marriages currently end in divorce in America). No, Huckabee said that he wasn't just picking on gays: the amendment would also exclude marriages between a man and a child, a man and an animal, or a man and three women (an inclusion that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann astutely pointed out was a bigoted dig at rival Mitt Romney's Mormon history). I'd like to ask Mr. Huckabee, since he thinks the Bible should be the basis for law here, whether the "preservation of marriage" amendment shouldn't also go to both prohibiting marriage between people of different faiths (strongly discouraged in the Good Book), and allowing the rich and powerful to have multiple wives (Kings David and Solomon among many others). And exactly whose interpretation of the Bible would the Constitution be changed to suit? Undoubtedly, to fundamentalist Baptist preacher Huckabee, it would be HIS interpretation.
Scapegoating gays who wanted to get married was very successfully used by the Republicans in 2004 to get Bush/Cheney reelected by placing a "marriage is only between a man and a woman' referendum on various state ballots (including the crucial swing state of Ohio). Suddenly, voters who couldn't care less about "trivial" issues like the exporting of jobs abroad, diminishing privacy rights, the Iraq War, or fighting terrorism stood up in large numbers (including many of the abovementioned divorced ones) to "save marriage" and keep homosexuals from getting married. This time around, the average Joe (or Sally) isn't as concerned about gays as they are about the new scapegoat for everything: undocumented Mexicans in this country. If there's crime, it's the illegal aliens' fault. If the economy falters, it's the illegal aliens' fault. If someone gets in front of them in line at the store or at the gasoline pump who looks Latino, it's the illegal aliens' fault. If they're out in public and hear people speaking Spanish and not English, it's the illegal aliens' fault. So most of the Republican candidates, with the notable exception of John McCain (to his credit), are dueling each other to see who can be the biggest demagogue on this issue. And this streak of meanness that I see people perk up and respond to in masses scares me a bit. So that's why I now give my backing to Arizona Senator John McCain for the Republican nomination. McCain has his own problematic positions on some issues, but he hasn't stooped to the low level that some of his rivals have. Reasonable people with differing opinions on difficult and volatile issues can often work together to find solutions to them which, although not necessarily the ones most desired by the different sides, nevertheless help to diffuse them instead of inflaming them. Civil unions for gays is one of these solutions that, at least in today's political climate, has been successfully instituted in some states. And I would like to suggest to others who are prone to scapegoating in dealing with their problems to look more within themselves for solutions and stop blaming other groups.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Wading Into the Ocean
When I was a boy in South Florida (during the late 1950s and early-to-mid 1960s), my family would go out to the beach on occasions (either at Haulover or Hollywood Beach). And one of the great rituals of the trip would be to gradually wade out into the ocean. I'd often carry with me one of those flimsy inner tubes that lifeguards no longer allow (except in swimming pools). And then I'd go out, deeper and deeper. I would spend what seemed like hours out in pretty deep water, riding my inner tube and getting severely sunburned. And occasionally I'd get stinging salt water in my eyes and nose. This I used to do years before I actually learned how to swim (when I was twelve)! But that's another story altogether.
Recently, on a beach trip to much colder waters off Ormond Beach, I noticed that wading out into the ocean and withstanding the incoming waves can serve as an analogy to life. Sometimes you're just standing there and the sea is completely calm. Which is pleasant for a while, but eventually boring. Life, in this way, can also be pleasant without any stress or concerns. But it can quickly turn into monotony if this goes on too long. Sometimes the water, when I enter it, is nice and warm. But sometimes it's ice cold, and I need to just "stick it out" and stay in the water long enough to get used to the temperature. And likewise, with some days, I have quite a bit of trouble just getting out of bed and going, while with others it seems as if I just spring out of bed with purpose and energy. But the most accurate analogy between ocean wading and living is how deep I am willing to go and how well I take on the waves when they hit me. When I am out in the water, I like to look out to the sea and see the waves as they form and approach. Sometimes I'll predict which ones will develop into large waves, and that's fun. But the greatest fun is meeting up with the waves when they hit and "suffering" the consequences. In life, it's important to have challenges ahead of oneself and to gage their degrees of intensity and importance. And then to enthusiastically meet them head-on, regardless of the consequences. It wouldn't make any sense for me to say at the beach, "I don't want to go out into the ocean", and then wade out and stand there with my back to the waves, continually becoming upset each time one of them suddenly crashed into me from behind, knocking me down. But isn't this how some of us live our lives, continually being thrown off and worn out by events enveloping us that we walked into blindly?
The essence of this is that, like taking on the ocean, life can be approached either in a proactive or a passive manner. Having fun and a sense of humor (especially when you get knocked down) is crucial! And when the going gets too tough, step out of the ocean for a few minutes and take a break!
Recently, on a beach trip to much colder waters off Ormond Beach, I noticed that wading out into the ocean and withstanding the incoming waves can serve as an analogy to life. Sometimes you're just standing there and the sea is completely calm. Which is pleasant for a while, but eventually boring. Life, in this way, can also be pleasant without any stress or concerns. But it can quickly turn into monotony if this goes on too long. Sometimes the water, when I enter it, is nice and warm. But sometimes it's ice cold, and I need to just "stick it out" and stay in the water long enough to get used to the temperature. And likewise, with some days, I have quite a bit of trouble just getting out of bed and going, while with others it seems as if I just spring out of bed with purpose and energy. But the most accurate analogy between ocean wading and living is how deep I am willing to go and how well I take on the waves when they hit me. When I am out in the water, I like to look out to the sea and see the waves as they form and approach. Sometimes I'll predict which ones will develop into large waves, and that's fun. But the greatest fun is meeting up with the waves when they hit and "suffering" the consequences. In life, it's important to have challenges ahead of oneself and to gage their degrees of intensity and importance. And then to enthusiastically meet them head-on, regardless of the consequences. It wouldn't make any sense for me to say at the beach, "I don't want to go out into the ocean", and then wade out and stand there with my back to the waves, continually becoming upset each time one of them suddenly crashed into me from behind, knocking me down. But isn't this how some of us live our lives, continually being thrown off and worn out by events enveloping us that we walked into blindly?
The essence of this is that, like taking on the ocean, life can be approached either in a proactive or a passive manner. Having fun and a sense of humor (especially when you get knocked down) is crucial! And when the going gets too tough, step out of the ocean for a few minutes and take a break!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Favorite Songs of 1990
1990 saw the release of a great REM album: Out of Time. Although the hyped-up single Losing My Religion wasn't one of my favorites, the rest of the album was spectacular. End Game, Shiny Happy People, Belong, and Half a World Away (my favorite from Out of Time) were all great tracks. For the rest of my 1990 favorites, I relied solely on the radio, listening to 103.7-WRUF "Rock 104" and 105.3-WYKS "Kiss 105".
Janet Jackson's best tune ever (in my opinion) came out in 1990 with her Escapade. The late, great blues/rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn produced the riff-laden Tightrope, while George Michael sang my favorite song of his, the very somber Praying For Time. Paul Simon's Obvious Child was an underplayed but beautiful song. Athens, Georgia's B-52's brightened things up "all around the world" with their cheery Roam. INXS's Suicide Blonde and Jane's Addiction's Been Caught Stealing were both catchy, fast-driving tunes as well as enjoyable videos. My #3 favorite from 1990 was Guns and Roses's completely out-of-character, slow, and chilling Civil War. If only this very talented band had gone down that particular musical path further! My #2 from 1990 was Depeche Mode's Enjoy the Silence, a song that spoke deeply to my heart (as well as did the video). My top favorite song from 1990 was Blue Sky Mine by the Australian band Midnight Oil, featuring brutal commentary about exploitation of labor and the environment in an historical Australian setting, accompanied by possibly the most wicked harmonica riff I've ever heard! And 1990's tearjerker of the year award goes to Sinéad O'Conner's sad lament to a bygone love, Nothing Compares 2 U.
Janet Jackson's best tune ever (in my opinion) came out in 1990 with her Escapade. The late, great blues/rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn produced the riff-laden Tightrope, while George Michael sang my favorite song of his, the very somber Praying For Time. Paul Simon's Obvious Child was an underplayed but beautiful song. Athens, Georgia's B-52's brightened things up "all around the world" with their cheery Roam. INXS's Suicide Blonde and Jane's Addiction's Been Caught Stealing were both catchy, fast-driving tunes as well as enjoyable videos. My #3 favorite from 1990 was Guns and Roses's completely out-of-character, slow, and chilling Civil War. If only this very talented band had gone down that particular musical path further! My #2 from 1990 was Depeche Mode's Enjoy the Silence, a song that spoke deeply to my heart (as well as did the video). My top favorite song from 1990 was Blue Sky Mine by the Australian band Midnight Oil, featuring brutal commentary about exploitation of labor and the environment in an historical Australian setting, accompanied by possibly the most wicked harmonica riff I've ever heard! And 1990's tearjerker of the year award goes to Sinéad O'Conner's sad lament to a bygone love, Nothing Compares 2 U.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Sick People Everywhere
Well, it's flu season again and I am wandering around, trying to avoid sneezing, coughing, and sniffling people. Especially when they handle things (like money and merchandise) that are going right back into my hands. I was just in a short line at Publix (my grocery store) behind a young woman. Suddenly she began to violently sneeze, and then followed that by sniffling badly. First, I just turned my head. But suddenly, I swung around and walked across the store over to another register. The friendly cashier there, I noticed, though, was also sniffling badly. Oh, well.
I don't know whether I am changing for the better or for the worse, but as the years go by, I have grown much more sensitive to contact with others, especially during cold and flu season. My attitude toward shaking hands, the common social custom of greeting, has become close to that of the lovable TV detective Monk. Monk's problem was attributed to his general obsessive-compulsive disorder, though. He had a companion whose job was to help him get through the day, with its myriad obstacles confronting him. And the most pervasive of these was the continual pressure to shake others' hands. To handle this, Monk had his assistant always carry with her some hand-wipes, ready to instantly whip out whenever the good detective was cornered into an unavoidable hand-shaking situation. Well, I'm getting that way, too! At church, my least favorite time is when they tell the congregation to turn around and greet each other. And then I'm compelled to shake the hands of others, even those who I could plainly see are sick. I could go immediately afterwards and wash my hands, but I'd still be liable to run into somebody else, who, of course would stick out his hand. When I go to Sonny's Restaurant, I usually stock up on their packets of hand-wipes (and use them more and more often).
I acknowledge that, as biological beings, we live, not as closed, completely insulated systems, but rather as open systems, constantly interacting on a microscopic level with our immediate environment. After all, the air we breathe is everybody else's, too. So it's completely unrealistic to expect anything resembling a sterile environment. But nowadays, when I hear someone sneeze (like I just did here in the crowded Starbucks by that previously-referred-to Publix), it filters quickly though the many other sounds around me to set off an alarm. The alarm of self-preservation!
Still, we all need to practice common-sense measures to prevent infections (such as washing hands), especially during the flu season. Being vaccinated isn't enough (I caught the flu a few years ago despite having received a vaccine). Another measure would be to respect others by realizing when we're sick and avoiding the contact and presence that could possibly spread the sickness to them. And this may involve taking time off from school and work (as well as church)! But alas, many of the unenlightened leaders of those institutions still abide by the ridiculous notion that it is somehow virtuous for a student or worker to attend school or work while sick (and infectious)! How ultimately counterproductive!
I don't know whether I am changing for the better or for the worse, but as the years go by, I have grown much more sensitive to contact with others, especially during cold and flu season. My attitude toward shaking hands, the common social custom of greeting, has become close to that of the lovable TV detective Monk. Monk's problem was attributed to his general obsessive-compulsive disorder, though. He had a companion whose job was to help him get through the day, with its myriad obstacles confronting him. And the most pervasive of these was the continual pressure to shake others' hands. To handle this, Monk had his assistant always carry with her some hand-wipes, ready to instantly whip out whenever the good detective was cornered into an unavoidable hand-shaking situation. Well, I'm getting that way, too! At church, my least favorite time is when they tell the congregation to turn around and greet each other. And then I'm compelled to shake the hands of others, even those who I could plainly see are sick. I could go immediately afterwards and wash my hands, but I'd still be liable to run into somebody else, who, of course would stick out his hand. When I go to Sonny's Restaurant, I usually stock up on their packets of hand-wipes (and use them more and more often).
I acknowledge that, as biological beings, we live, not as closed, completely insulated systems, but rather as open systems, constantly interacting on a microscopic level with our immediate environment. After all, the air we breathe is everybody else's, too. So it's completely unrealistic to expect anything resembling a sterile environment. But nowadays, when I hear someone sneeze (like I just did here in the crowded Starbucks by that previously-referred-to Publix), it filters quickly though the many other sounds around me to set off an alarm. The alarm of self-preservation!
Still, we all need to practice common-sense measures to prevent infections (such as washing hands), especially during the flu season. Being vaccinated isn't enough (I caught the flu a few years ago despite having received a vaccine). Another measure would be to respect others by realizing when we're sick and avoiding the contact and presence that could possibly spread the sickness to them. And this may involve taking time off from school and work (as well as church)! But alas, many of the unenlightened leaders of those institutions still abide by the ridiculous notion that it is somehow virtuous for a student or worker to attend school or work while sick (and infectious)! How ultimately counterproductive!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Piano on the Eights: 1/15
My piano progress has slowed down a bit over the past eight weeks, and I have only myself to blame for it. I began lessons with the objective of playing piano as a lifelong endeavor. I know deep, down inside me that I have the innate talent to become quite a good player, and I have a great memory of many songs that I would love to be able to play, both for myself and others. But, like with other things, the demands of daily living and me feeling "pooped out" at the end of the day, have taken their toll on my practice. So, I am going to begin recording the time I actually spend each day in practice, in order to impart to myself a sense of accountability. I've still been going to my weekly lessons (with a short Christmas break) and have practiced my assignments. But not enough! But that's about to change drastically!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Monday Newsbreak: 1/14
--Last Tuesday's New Hampshire Democratic Primary results brought about two particular interpretations that are, in my opinion, slaps in the faces of the voters. As you may already know, Hillary Clinton, after leading there in the public opinion polls, had slipped considerably and was trailing her main rival, Barack Obama, by as many as 12 percentage points in polls taken close to the primary date. But when the actual votes were counted, she had narrowly won. Almost immediately, analysts began to spin the results. One spin claimed that while many white voters may have publicly proclaimed their support for African-American Obama, once they were within the anonymity of the voting booth, they switched to Clinton. This implied racism has no basis in fact. The other insulting spin was that Hillary broke down in tears on the day before the voting, and this caused women to get angry and come out in droves to her defense. Neither of these explanations are proven, and I suspect that those who are dwelling on them may just be trying to belittle the Clinton victory. There may be another explanation for the Clinton surge that I have yet to hear anyone express. And that is that there are a lot of people who really have faith in Hillary's ability to lead this country, but felt unsure about expressing this feeling publicly. That explanation (which is mine) is also unproven, but I think that it is more accurate than the others I've heard.
--Former Democratic Presidential nominee (1972) George McGovern has written an editorial piece calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush. He claims that Bush violated the Constitution, national, and international law. McGovern describes the incredible costs of the undeclared war in Iraq in terms of both lives and money. He points out that the treatment of foreign prisoners has featured torture and deprivation of fundamental due process. And he reminds us that the pretext given for the Iraq War was built upon the deceit that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear arms. McGovern then questions the President's recent bellicose position toward Iran and its nuclear weapon program when he already knew that it had ceased in 2003. The former South Dakota Senator also decries Bush's mismanagement of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans. And finally, he sites the President's selective interpretation of the law (FISA) regarding the wiretapping of thousands of American citizens. For my part, I compare all this with the reasoning used to impeach President Clinton in 1999. The evidence against Bush dwarfs anything that anyone had against Clinton, who was basically caught lying about a consensual sexual affair he had.
--There seems to be a difference of opinion among economists as to whether the U.S. has entered a recession or not. It's interesting that, after a recession has ended for a while, economists usually place its beginning and end earlier in time than when people thought it was occurring. One of the reasons that I think this is so is because workers and consumers are usually among the last to feel the effects of a recession's conclusion.
--Earlier this week, a 70+ vehicle pile-up accident occurred on a stretch of Interstate-Four near Lakeland (between Tampa and Orlando) and included some fatalities. The cause of the multiple accidents, which was severe fog combined with smoke from a foolishly executed controlled burn nearby, made vision virtually impossible. A couple of days earlier, I ran into some severe fog myself driving home from work. Pretty scary stuff, I must say, when you're going down the road at 40 mph and suddenly can't see anything but whiteness around you!
--There's a good chance that the New England Patriots may go undefeated and win the Super Bowl this year. But whether they do or not, there is one very overriding factor in their success that they share with the 1972 "perfect" Miami Dolphins: the members of both teams, on both their offensive and defensive squads, played as a single unit, and were characterized by unselfishness and devotion to the greater good of the team.
--Former Democratic Presidential nominee (1972) George McGovern has written an editorial piece calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush. He claims that Bush violated the Constitution, national, and international law. McGovern describes the incredible costs of the undeclared war in Iraq in terms of both lives and money. He points out that the treatment of foreign prisoners has featured torture and deprivation of fundamental due process. And he reminds us that the pretext given for the Iraq War was built upon the deceit that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear arms. McGovern then questions the President's recent bellicose position toward Iran and its nuclear weapon program when he already knew that it had ceased in 2003. The former South Dakota Senator also decries Bush's mismanagement of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans. And finally, he sites the President's selective interpretation of the law (FISA) regarding the wiretapping of thousands of American citizens. For my part, I compare all this with the reasoning used to impeach President Clinton in 1999. The evidence against Bush dwarfs anything that anyone had against Clinton, who was basically caught lying about a consensual sexual affair he had.
--There seems to be a difference of opinion among economists as to whether the U.S. has entered a recession or not. It's interesting that, after a recession has ended for a while, economists usually place its beginning and end earlier in time than when people thought it was occurring. One of the reasons that I think this is so is because workers and consumers are usually among the last to feel the effects of a recession's conclusion.
--Earlier this week, a 70+ vehicle pile-up accident occurred on a stretch of Interstate-Four near Lakeland (between Tampa and Orlando) and included some fatalities. The cause of the multiple accidents, which was severe fog combined with smoke from a foolishly executed controlled burn nearby, made vision virtually impossible. A couple of days earlier, I ran into some severe fog myself driving home from work. Pretty scary stuff, I must say, when you're going down the road at 40 mph and suddenly can't see anything but whiteness around you!
--There's a good chance that the New England Patriots may go undefeated and win the Super Bowl this year. But whether they do or not, there is one very overriding factor in their success that they share with the 1972 "perfect" Miami Dolphins: the members of both teams, on both their offensive and defensive squads, played as a single unit, and were characterized by unselfishness and devotion to the greater good of the team.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Presidential Despot
Our current President, George W. Bush, is often referred to by his opponents as a despot, tyrant, emperor, or king. The idea is that he rules as if he were some kind of supreme authoritarian entity, without regard to the feelings of his people. Well, I tend to agree with the part that says that our current President is insensitive to his people, although there have been important exceptions. But I have a bit of an issue with the first part.
At the beginning of our country, when leaders were arguing over what kind of government we were going to have, some wanted a decentralized confederation of autonomous former colonies. Others, fearing domination from the stronger Continental nations like Britain and France, stressed the need for a strong, centralized federal state headed by a single ruler. In the Great Compromise that enabled the US Constitution to come into being, the problem was solved by instituting the office of President. The President would be like a king in the scope of his powers, but would in turn be subject to the will of the states that elected him. The extent of this subjugation would be that the states could turn him out of office in the next election, or Congress could impeach and remove him from office should he be adjudged guilty of grievous offenses. Also, the authority to appropriate funds for government would lie chiefly in the hands of the Legislative branch, with the President limited to his veto power in that area.
That being said, the office of President does carry with it great power, and none greater than the power to involve the country in a war. To the extent that our current President plunged his nation into a war that it was very deeply divided about from the very beginning, I can understand more fully the wrath and charges of despotism that his more vocal critics have vented against him. But, in my personal memory (going back to Lyndon Johnson's Presidency), every President has been charged by his critics with strong-armed rule at one time or another. Even relatively weak Presidents like Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter were accused of this (Ford for pardoning Nixon and refusing to financially bail out New York City and Carter for pushing through the Panama Canal Treaty).
The bottom line on all this is that someone who politically supports a President and his or her policies is going to refrain from the despotism charges, while opponents will feed into this tactic. But it's an awfully old, badly worn out tactic, the way I see it. Sure, we have to be vigilant that Presidents don't exceed their Constitutional limitations, but this needs to be done without concern over whether it is a Republican or Democratic administration alleged to be committing any abuses of power. And despots don't just get up and walk away from their power at a specified time, the way our Presidents do: they're in it for life (unless they are overthrown by force, that is).
At the beginning of our country, when leaders were arguing over what kind of government we were going to have, some wanted a decentralized confederation of autonomous former colonies. Others, fearing domination from the stronger Continental nations like Britain and France, stressed the need for a strong, centralized federal state headed by a single ruler. In the Great Compromise that enabled the US Constitution to come into being, the problem was solved by instituting the office of President. The President would be like a king in the scope of his powers, but would in turn be subject to the will of the states that elected him. The extent of this subjugation would be that the states could turn him out of office in the next election, or Congress could impeach and remove him from office should he be adjudged guilty of grievous offenses. Also, the authority to appropriate funds for government would lie chiefly in the hands of the Legislative branch, with the President limited to his veto power in that area.
That being said, the office of President does carry with it great power, and none greater than the power to involve the country in a war. To the extent that our current President plunged his nation into a war that it was very deeply divided about from the very beginning, I can understand more fully the wrath and charges of despotism that his more vocal critics have vented against him. But, in my personal memory (going back to Lyndon Johnson's Presidency), every President has been charged by his critics with strong-armed rule at one time or another. Even relatively weak Presidents like Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter were accused of this (Ford for pardoning Nixon and refusing to financially bail out New York City and Carter for pushing through the Panama Canal Treaty).
The bottom line on all this is that someone who politically supports a President and his or her policies is going to refrain from the despotism charges, while opponents will feed into this tactic. But it's an awfully old, badly worn out tactic, the way I see it. Sure, we have to be vigilant that Presidents don't exceed their Constitutional limitations, but this needs to be done without concern over whether it is a Republican or Democratic administration alleged to be committing any abuses of power. And despots don't just get up and walk away from their power at a specified time, the way our Presidents do: they're in it for life (unless they are overthrown by force, that is).
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Weight Loss and Maintenance on the Eights: 1/12
My weight loss project suffered some neglect over the holiday season, but at least I didn't blow it altogether. And I've resumed my weekly weigh-ins after a four-week hiatus. I'm only slightly overweight, and to some I may not appear to need to lose any pounds. But I do want to get to where I am more comfortable running, and having about 25 fewer pounds coming down on my ankles and feet each time I hit the road will no doubt help to prevent some "wear-and-tear" type injuries. I'm also 51 years old and would like to establish some sensible eating and exercising habits to keep me more active and healthy as I age. Hopefully, I am now "back on track" and will finally make some weight-loss progress in the ensuing weeks. Here's my somewhat abbreviated record for the past eight weeks:
DATE WEIGHT(LBS)
11-17...... 178.8
11-24...... 177.4
12-01..... 180.2
1-05........181.2
1-12.........182.0
DATE WEIGHT(LBS)
11-17...... 178.8
11-24...... 177.4
12-01..... 180.2
1-05........181.2
1-12.........182.0
Friday, January 11, 2008
The Sacred Language
In the movie Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf revealed to Frodo that the inscription on his ring was in the language of Mordor. And then the great wizard said that he would not utter it, implying that there was something evil in that tongue. By the same token, the Elvish language had the connotation of goodness and wisdom imparted to it throughout this epic tale. So what gives here? Are some languages more "virtuous" than others?
It seems to me that, with regard to the world's chief organized religions, many in positions of religious authority deem certain languages to have a special sacred nature to them. This is primarily applied to the scriptures that the religions base their theology and doctrine on. So a Hindu who wants to get the "truest" meaning of his or her religion will want to pursue it in the extinct Sanskrit language. Many Muslims believe that only in the original Arabic version of the Qu'ran can they realize fully the revelations of Allah through their Prophet. And in Christianity, the translation of the Bible into vernacular tongues has met with much resistance through the centuries (and once was deemed a capital offense). Even now, there are those who claim that the King James Version is the only legitimate translation. And there is a movement afoot within the Roman Catholic Church to revive the Latin Mass.
I am of the conviction that any particular language in the world is essentially a neutral medium of communication. Naturally, languages like English, Russian, or Chinese have a much more extensive technical vocabulary than, say, an Australian aboriginal tongue. But even that "primitive" language could potentially adapt to and accommodate anything that the so-called "advanced" languages can express. And I believe that this principle carries over into religious scriptures. So why won't others recognize this?
If the prevailing religious scriptures within a culture are kept solely in a language that the population at-large there does not fully comprehend (or even not at all), then the need will naturally arise for religious teachers and a religious hierarchy or authority to interpret the difficult-to-understand texts. If the scriptures were published and popularized in common vernacular language, then that authority would diminish, as anyone who could read could also plainly discern the scripture's meaning. So, to me, elevating a specific language to the level of a "sacred tongue" may sound, on the surface, as being so holy and high-minded. But there may be an underlying self-serving interest with this as well on the part of the "experts" situated in positions of religious authority.
It seems to me that, with regard to the world's chief organized religions, many in positions of religious authority deem certain languages to have a special sacred nature to them. This is primarily applied to the scriptures that the religions base their theology and doctrine on. So a Hindu who wants to get the "truest" meaning of his or her religion will want to pursue it in the extinct Sanskrit language. Many Muslims believe that only in the original Arabic version of the Qu'ran can they realize fully the revelations of Allah through their Prophet. And in Christianity, the translation of the Bible into vernacular tongues has met with much resistance through the centuries (and once was deemed a capital offense). Even now, there are those who claim that the King James Version is the only legitimate translation. And there is a movement afoot within the Roman Catholic Church to revive the Latin Mass.
I am of the conviction that any particular language in the world is essentially a neutral medium of communication. Naturally, languages like English, Russian, or Chinese have a much more extensive technical vocabulary than, say, an Australian aboriginal tongue. But even that "primitive" language could potentially adapt to and accommodate anything that the so-called "advanced" languages can express. And I believe that this principle carries over into religious scriptures. So why won't others recognize this?
If the prevailing religious scriptures within a culture are kept solely in a language that the population at-large there does not fully comprehend (or even not at all), then the need will naturally arise for religious teachers and a religious hierarchy or authority to interpret the difficult-to-understand texts. If the scriptures were published and popularized in common vernacular language, then that authority would diminish, as anyone who could read could also plainly discern the scripture's meaning. So, to me, elevating a specific language to the level of a "sacred tongue" may sound, on the surface, as being so holy and high-minded. But there may be an underlying self-serving interest with this as well on the part of the "experts" situated in positions of religious authority.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Favorite Songs of 1991
The year 1991 was dominated (for me) by the Led Zeppelin revival that was spurred by the release of their boxed set. The local station 103.7-WRUF "Rock 104" would play a block of their songs each weeknight at about eight (nowadays, a rival station, 92.5-WYND-FM, "gets the Led out" at ten weeknights). I grew to love songs like Going to California, The Battle of Evermore, In the Evening, Ramble On, and Hey Hey What Can I Do. But easily, my top two favorites of 1991 were Zep's When the Levee Breaks and Misty Mountain Hop, both from the second side of their fourth album. And When the Levee Breaks quickly became my all-time favorite song (to this day)! Aside from Led Zeppelin, I rediscovered two old tunes: Foghat's Slow Ride and AC-DC's Back in Black.
But as far the songs that actually came out in 1991 are concerned, there were a few good ones as well. Dire Straits had a very underrated song with their defiant and funny Heavy Fuel. Extreme, a west-coast band with promise (but which later fizzled) started out well with Hole-Hearted and More Than Words. The Australian band the Divinyls shocked a few with their I Touch Myself. Aside from the Zeppelin tunes, my favorites from '91 were the Red Hot Chili Peppers and their classic funk/reggae/hard rock Give It Away, along with the explosive dance-blast hit Gonna Make You Sweat by C+C Music Factory. On the mellower side, two traditionally hard-rock bands, Queensryche and the Scorpions, came out with their best efforts in Silent Lucidity and Wind of Change, respectively. Both Wind of Change and Jesus Jones's hit Right Here Right Now presented a hope for the future based on the recent fall of the Iron Curtain. Bonnie Raitt sounded beautiful in Something to Talk About and Marc Cohn presented a dreamy world with his Walking in Memphis. Sting reminisced about his late father with his touching All This Time. And the "happiest" song of 1991 had to be Amy Grant's bubbly Every Heartbeat.
I also, in 1991, purchased the "latest" Moody Blues album, Keys of the Kingdom. Not one of their best works, but it did contain two of my eventual favorites of theirs: John Lodge's love song Lean on Me Tonight and the inimitable Ray Thomas with his mysterious Celtic Sonant.
But as far the songs that actually came out in 1991 are concerned, there were a few good ones as well. Dire Straits had a very underrated song with their defiant and funny Heavy Fuel. Extreme, a west-coast band with promise (but which later fizzled) started out well with Hole-Hearted and More Than Words. The Australian band the Divinyls shocked a few with their I Touch Myself. Aside from the Zeppelin tunes, my favorites from '91 were the Red Hot Chili Peppers and their classic funk/reggae/hard rock Give It Away, along with the explosive dance-blast hit Gonna Make You Sweat by C+C Music Factory. On the mellower side, two traditionally hard-rock bands, Queensryche and the Scorpions, came out with their best efforts in Silent Lucidity and Wind of Change, respectively. Both Wind of Change and Jesus Jones's hit Right Here Right Now presented a hope for the future based on the recent fall of the Iron Curtain. Bonnie Raitt sounded beautiful in Something to Talk About and Marc Cohn presented a dreamy world with his Walking in Memphis. Sting reminisced about his late father with his touching All This Time. And the "happiest" song of 1991 had to be Amy Grant's bubbly Every Heartbeat.
I also, in 1991, purchased the "latest" Moody Blues album, Keys of the Kingdom. Not one of their best works, but it did contain two of my eventual favorites of theirs: John Lodge's love song Lean on Me Tonight and the inimitable Ray Thomas with his mysterious Celtic Sonant.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Campaign Revisited
A funny thing happened on the way to the nomination (Obama's, that is). After suffering a double-digit deficit in the late polls before the New Hampshire Primary and being all-but-given-up on in her quest for the Presidency, New York Senator Hillary Clinton pulled off an unexpected upset over "surging" Illinois Senator Barack Obama in yesterday's voting. Now I suppose the pundits are going to say that Obama's campaign is now in trouble! I still prefer him to Clinton for President, but at least now it looks as if I'm actually going to have viable candidates to choose from in the upcoming January 29 Florida Primary. But the delegates selected there won't be seated at the Democratic Convention because Florida was such a naughty state in moving its primary date ahead one week. This is the same party that was so insistent (or at least claimed to be) in 2000 that every vote in Florida be counted (and recounted and recounted). What a difference eight years can make!
Arizona Senator John McCain further muddled up the GOP side of the Presidential race by winning over super-wealthy (with a quarter of a billion dollars) former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. They say that Romney has so much money to throw into the campaign that it doesn't matter if he keeps losing. I believe that he (Romney) is the establishment Republican candidate that would most closely follow the policies and tone of the present George W. Bush administration: elitist, pro-corporate, and anti-worker. So I guess you can tell that I care little for him or his candidacy. But he could very well end up spending his way to the nomination!
All in all, I'm pleased with the New Hampshire results. Now it looks as if we will actually have real campaigns in both parties for a while, at least through Super Tuesday (February 5).
Arizona Senator John McCain further muddled up the GOP side of the Presidential race by winning over super-wealthy (with a quarter of a billion dollars) former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. They say that Romney has so much money to throw into the campaign that it doesn't matter if he keeps losing. I believe that he (Romney) is the establishment Republican candidate that would most closely follow the policies and tone of the present George W. Bush administration: elitist, pro-corporate, and anti-worker. So I guess you can tell that I care little for him or his candidacy. But he could very well end up spending his way to the nomination!
All in all, I'm pleased with the New Hampshire results. Now it looks as if we will actually have real campaigns in both parties for a while, at least through Super Tuesday (February 5).
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