Global Warming and Energy Independence

One of the paradoxes in our society today is the tendency of much of the conservative right to deny the existence of man-made global warming. To hear some of them talk, you would think that the anti-global warming movement is an anti-American socialist internationalist plot. That Democratic former Vice-President Al Gore is one of “them” seems to add fuel to the fires of denial. But let’s look at this a little closer.

It’s true that the United States is often presented as the main target for criticism about carbon dioxide emissions. And carbon dioxide contributes to the greenhouse effect that traps the sun’s heat within the earth’s atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels, chief among them petroleum, releases a great amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And don’t we depend in America greatly on other countries to supply us with this petroleum? And aren’t some of those countries, like Venezuela, Libya, Iran, and Russia, places whose national interests don’t necessarily coincide with ours? And aren’t we embroiled in a seemingly endless war in oil-rich Iraq, prohibitively costly both in terms of lives, injuries, and the enormous financial cost? Would we have been doing this in a country that wasn’t a major oil producer?

Conservatives and liberals alike say that they want the U.S. to be energy-independent. By that, I mean independent of other countries. We shouldn't be so vulnerable about our energy supplies that we feel compelled to mortgage our future in order to forcibly protect them. It’s high time we finally get serious with alternative, renewable sources of energy. And by that I mean water, wind, solar, and fusion. Sources that would not tax our atmosphere with excess amounts of carbon dioxide emissions.

Unfortunately, conservatives, in their proclamations for energy independence, stress exploration, mining, and processing fossil fuels that are on U.S. territory or under coastal waters, while belittling efforts to encourage renewable, relatively clean energy sources. The way I see it is that all we will accomplish by their suggestions is pollute our planet more while keeping us just as dependent on foreign sources as before. It will take great strides in both technological development and national commitment to get us truly energy-independent.

I haven’t mentioned two energy sources that hold some promise for the future: ethanol, and nuclear power. The problem with using corn-based ethanol for energy is that it threatens to drive up the price of grain beyond the point where people who really need it for food can afford it. And nuclear energy, despite the claims of increased safety, still has the problem of what to do with the enormous quantity of slow-decaying radioactive waste that is a by-product. So I would rather see more development with solar, hydrogen, wind, and fusion as a long-term solution, both in terms of making us energy-independent and raising the U.S. to be a world leader in preserving our fragile environment. I don’t see the point in wrecking the planet and getting us entangled in more wars when the end result regarding energy resources is going to be the same!

Mundane Matters on the Eights: 4/12

Back when I was a kid in the late sixties, I stopped playing out in my backyard for a few months (this was in 1968). And for the various reasons that can crop up in families, the maintenance of our backyard went by the wayside as well. One day, I decided that I would just step out there and throw the ball around, or maybe just see how many chin-ups I could do on the clothes-line pole out by the back fence. When I stepped out, the yard looked unfamiliar, with heavily grown-up grass and weeds coming up around my waist level. I felt like going back inside and putting on my father’s (a letter carrier) “jungle” hat to fully convey the sense of the environment. But out I bravely went, and actually enjoyed myself for a few minutes. Until I looked back at the house, that is. On the outside wall, about halfway between the back door and the dining room window, was a moth. Almost a foot long! Suddenly, I realized that I was in a very strange, primitive, wild place and began to carefully tiptoe back to the back door, so as not to disturb Mothra. I didn’t go back out again until a few weeks later, when my parents suddenly decided to tackle the back yard situation with a vengeance. The whole family worked together mowing, cutting, and carrying stuff to the front of the house. There had been a growing pile of brush by the back fence that had been accumulating for years. When we picked it up, we discovered it was full of cockroaches, which fled to tree branches above us as we worked! How creepy can you get, right? Well, when we reached the bottom of the pile, the roaches there were albinos! We did get the back yard looking really nice and used it a lot in the following years. I don’t think it ever got much out of hand after that, and I never saw Mothra again, either in my back yard or anywhere else.

I say all this, thinking that I have allowed too much junk to accumulate within my house (especially the garage). It’s really beginning to stifle my lifestyle, as well as that of my family. I feel the urge to embark on a great project reminiscent of the late-sixties yard clearing that my parents did. And while we’re at it, a few home improvements like repairs and new flooring seem to be in order as well!

This “mundane matters” project of mine, where I make a concerted effort to take care of ordinary things concerning me, just hasn’t taken off yet, sad to say. But I’m not giving up. My emphasis needs to be on habit transformation. But first things first. The house needs some extensive work.

Colonoscopy

Just recently, the 64-year-old brother of one of my nearest neighbors died of colon cancer. This disease is one of the more curable types of cancer when it is detected early. Being that I am now in my fifties, my physician advised and referred me to a specialist to get a colonoscopy, primarily for the sake of early cancer detection and prevention. So Wednesday, I “prepped” for the procedure by going on a liquid diet and taking medication designed to cleanse out my intestines. That wasn’t so hot! Yesterday, I went down to have the procedure done. All those I encountered were very professional, efficient, and polite. I had an IV inserted, to which was added something to temporarily “knock me out”. A few minutes later, I was wide awake again, and the colonoscopy was finished. The doctor furnished pictures of various stages within my large intestine, and he gave me a clean bill of health! I strongly advise others to seek out this procedure for themselves as they enter their fifties. Their lives may eventually depend on it!

Having said the above, I also recognized that I have a good, inexpensive but comprehensive health insurance plan. Others don’t. And it’s this sort of preventative medicine that can bypass less fortunate people who need it just as much as I do. Without my insurance, this procedure would have been very expensive. This is another reason why I support an effective universal health care policy for my country.

Favorite Songs of 1979

For me, 1979 wasn't a very good year, either in terms of music or my life in general. There were a few musical standouts, although these really weren’t comparable to later years. One good thing about 1979 was the start of the decline of the disco era. Sure, I liked some disco songs, but enough was enough! Ironically, just as disco’s popularity began to wane, the group Electric Light Orchestra seemed to want to become a disco band. I liked their Shine a Little Love, while their Don’t Bring Me Down was just gold old-fashioned rock n’ roll, Dave Clark Five-style. Rod Stewart had a likable disco-type song in Do Ya Think I’m Sexy, and I grew to like Andy Gibb’s dance hit Shadow Dancing. But other types of music were emerging in ‘79. New wave, reggae/rock, and rap made their influence felt with Blondie (Heart of Glass), The Police (Roxanne and Message in a Bottle), and the Sugarhill Gang (Rapper’s Delight), respectively. The Knack briefly exploded into rock superstardom with their relentless My Sharona. Dire Straits impressed me with their guitar virtuosity for their enduring Sultans of Swing. Several old-time acts had good records in 1979: Elton John’s Mama Can’t Buy You Love, George Harrison’s Blow Away, and Neil Diamond’s romantic Forever in Blue Jeans (my #3 favorite song from back in 1979). My #2 favorite song was the exciting and grossly underplayed Get It Right Next Time by the talented Gerry Rafferty. The top favorite of mine, as I lived through 1979, was What a Fool Believes (which actually won the Grammy Award that year) by the Doobie Brothers This was one of those songs that I grew to appreciate the more I heard it. The happiest song of that pretty unhappy (for me) year? What else but We Are Family by Sister Sledge!

Tracks in School

When I was a student during my childhood, I derived a great sense of self-esteem from being at the top of my class. And conversely, a great sense of failure and humiliation from those times I was at the bottom of my class. When the general student body was split up into classes without regard to the students' perceived aptitudes, I usually found myself doing pretty well. But often, the curriculum was split into tracks. For example, in high school math, we had three tracks: track three for the math-challenged, track two for the vast body of “average” students, and track one for the math whizzes. I was a math whiz (I took the SAT twice, scoring 780 in math the first time and 800 the second). So naturally, the good folks at my high school kept putting me in track one math. The only problem was, that put me in a situation where it was very difficult to claw myself to the top of the class. If I had stayed in track two throughout my high school career, I could have still learned everything at my own pace, gotten excellent grades, and been at the summit of my classes. But with track one, I felt like an idiot and floundered there. It sure would have been swell if one of those “professional” teachers and counselors in my school had even once considered advising me that perhaps I would be better off staying with track two math. But of course, no one did.

I believe that many kids nowadays feel great pressure from parents, teachers, and counselors to try to claw and scratch their way into as many “track one” and advanced placement courses to enhance their academic records for college admissions and scholarships. But many kids (myself included) have a psychological need to feel a sense of success in relation to the group they find themselves in. A student struggling to stay afloat in an advanced placement class may feel stupid and discouraged, especially if he/she had been used to being at the top of other classes. Now someone may argue that this is just preparation for the competitiveness of adult life: inevitably, the best will “float” to the top and eventually find their optimum “place” in their careers. But I believe that it’s more important to keep a kid’s spirit and enthusiasm going strong than it is to throw down hard experiences on him/her that may be more damaging than educational. But that’s just my opinion, based on my own experiences.

Happy Birthday, Blog!

I’ve finally come around full circle to April 8 again, meaning that this blog has been going on for one full year! I hope that you readers have enjoyed it and gotten something useful from it. My main purpose in writing it has been to practice writing as a daily discipline. Along the way, I’ve tried to be transparent and honest regarding my personality and opinions. Some articles have been easier to write than others. And looking back, there are a few that I probably would have written a little differently! But all in all, it’s been a fun ride.

I plan to continue this blog indefinitely, so keep tuned! I keep thinking that I’m going to add photos and other graphic enhancements, so you’re not just going to be confronted with the written word whenever you drop in. Maybe at some time in the future, I’ll add a regular section that includes some pictures with captions and comments. We’ll see. But the main emphasis will still be writing!

Monday Newsbreak: 4/7

--President Bush met with "outgoing" Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia Saturday. Interspersed with serious disputes about NATO's role in East Europe and Russia's flagging democracy were photo ops showing the two joking around and acting like long-time congenial good ol' buddies. Putin, scheduled to leave office in May to be replaced as Russia's president by Dmitry Medvedev, wants to rule Russia as its prime minister, reducing the country's presidency to a relatively ceremonial position. Bush is planning to meet with Medvedev, too. For all the difference that's going to make!

--With the Presidential campaign, people are getting all hung up over personalities and the likability of the remaining candidates. Just don't forget that once whoever gets elected is sitting in the Oval Office, the issues that will affect us aren't going to be personality-related. They will be which bills the new President signs and which ones he/she vetoes. And of course, what decisions will come down about international relations and war/peace.

--In the midst of grim announcements that the University of Florida is strictly limiting admissions to applicants, it was revealed that Dr. Bruce Kone, dean of UF's medical school, bypassed school admissions policies and, on his own, admitted a politically-connected applicant whose father raised money for the Republicans and helped organize Charlie Crist's 2006 gubernatorial campaign. To me, this sort of thing needs to be "nipped in the bud" or else we'll be seeing a lot more of this double standard going on.

--In the NCAA championship men's basketball tournament, UCLA and North Carolina, the two teams I had picked to play in tonight's championship game, choked up in a big way in their semifinal games against Memphis and Kansas, respectively. I'm picking Memphis to win the final tonight (not that you should heed my opinion).

Decline of Amateur Athletics

I believe in amateur athletics. After all, even though I’m 51 years old, I myself still harbor a desire to excel in sports (within my age level, of course), in particular with regard to running. Unfortunately, the very existence of amateurism in sports has come under severe attack in recent decades. And there are some glaring reasons for this.

After World War II, most of the Communist countries used athletics as a propaganda tool to promote their ideology to the world. Athletes were furnished with token “jobs”, but were in essence completely professional athletes with higher privileges than their non-athletic compatriots as well as access to all of the training resources that their governments could (and would) provide. In Olympics after Olympics, these countries (most notably the Soviet Union and East Germany) would lead the total medal count for the list of nations. It was the West’s response to this challenge that furthered the slide of amateur sports, for they chose to loosen the rules for their own athletes. This enabled the athletes to work full-time within their sports and technically retain the title of “amateur” during the actual Olympic (or other) competition. This, of course, has become a complete farce, as evidenced by the United States Olympic “dream teams” of multi-millionaire NBA players pretending to be amateurs. Nowadays, in many sports that are open for “public” participation (like track and running), big-name athletes are often paid large sums of money up-front to lure them to participate. What an abomination (in my opinion)! It seems now that everybody is on the take, and just competing for the love of the sport is widely considered to be the attitude of a chump.

Even in college athletics, perhaps the last attempt to at least present the appearance of amateurism, superstar athletes are almost always assured of financial windfalls and just as often as not don’t even complete their college careers before turning professional. My hometown University of Florida men’s basketball team had most of its starting lineup turn pro after their junior years. On one hand, I decry the mercenary nature of their actions. But on the other hand, I also feel that so many other parties, both in the University, Gainesville, and anywhere else where Gator products are marketed and publicized, have exploited these athletes, who generated a lot of money for them without being able to enjoy any payments themselves in the process. So I wish them all well. But we sure could have used them this past season! I wonder how far the Gators would have gone had players like Corey Brewer, Al Horford, and Joakim Noah stayed for their senior years.

Nowadays, amateur college athletics have been even more distorted by the win-at-all-costs attitude of alumni and booster clubs. Coaches and their staffs often receive exorbitantly high salaries. Fans and Internet-auction hucksters alike seek out star athletes for their autographs and any mementos they can get hold of. I myself recently witnessed how UF football star players had to walk a gauntlet of autograph seekers just to get from the practice field back to their locker room. However, I also recognize that organized spectator sports, be they amateur or professional, depend for their growth and sustenance on the fact that they are essentially public entertainment. A star athlete should, as an essential part of his/her role, be generous and gracious to the general public as they seek things like autographs. Especially with kids, who are probably the purest fans around.

Recently, I witnessed a local star amateur college athlete, widely known as a man of “character”, just walk away from a group of children for whom he was signing autographs, when he decided that he had had enough of it. And I know that at least one of these children came away from the experience feeling rejected, humiliated, and disillusioned. I even wrote this athlete a letter explaining my objection to his behavior and wondering how big he really thought he was. That was two weeks ago and this great “hero” has yet to respond to me. I don’t like to see anyone humiliated, but that’s what happened to this child, whom this athlete repeatedly ignored while attending to others (including adults). That all aside, I recognize that we all have our own faults. But we should be careful not to project an image of ourselves that we can’t even remotely hope to live up to.

Amateurs, not just in sports, are treasures who merit more respect and admiration. Whether one speaks of music, photography, art, writing, astronomy, athletics, or one of a myriad other fields, amateurism is the foundation on which excellence and progress are built. Let’s return to a spirit of loving to do something for its own sake, without being concerned about money, fame, or self-aggrandizement!

Finding Some Good in Anything

Sometimes I find, during my daily walk through life, that there are situations that I cannot avoid going through. And of course, the "wise" thing to do during one of these tedious and trying times is to find a way to make the most of the experience while minimizing the negative effects. But what if I deliberately pick out something that I don't like and then try to discover something worthwhile about it? I've started trying this idea with my television viewing recently.

A few months ago, I got my local cable TV company's expanded digital service, adding many new channels to my TV lineup. One of these channels was a Fox soccer station that broadcasts games from all over the world. Now to me, soccer is one of the most boring games there is to watch (although playing it can be quite fun). But one night I tuned in and was greeted with a game in the English Barclay league between two longtime rivals. I was about to "surf on" to something else when I noticed the jabbering between the game's two TV announcers. Both had thick local accents, with one announcer supporting one team and the second the other. And they would whoop and holler like regular fans sitting in the stands. They trashed the referee if they felt he made a bad call (this happened very frequently) and viciously criticized players for mistakes or just poor play. I found this kind of game commentary very entertaining and stayed on to watch the game. Unfortunately, that kind of play-by-play announcing is the exception to the rule of boring soccer coverage, but it's an example of how I could get something of worth out of what could have been a pretty tedious experience.

I also listen to a variety of shows on the radio, including conservative talk radio. Almost without exception, the hosts on these programs are rude, vicious proponents of their ideology and cut down those who express a differing world view. But still, from time to time even these folks will say something of value.

And now I come to my "acid test" to see if this principle works. I just picked up yesterday's Independent Florida Alligator, a free rag put out by University of Florida students that I usually have trouble getting anything out of. Let's see, I'm looking through it now: the front page features an article about tragically-killed-by-drunk-driver Gainesville Police officer Corey Dahlem being remembered one year after his death...my city, confronted by neighbors' opposition, delays action on a new homeless shelter...many articles (and letters to the editor) about the student senate here (mostly boring!)...man tries to steal electric guitar by hiding it in his pants (that made the front page)...Stephen Lewis, an AIDS specialist for the UN, spoke on campus about the plight of 14+ million women and 500,000 children infected with it...apparently, some 2000 Starbucks workers across the country had to share their tips with their managers (maybe that explains the TWO tip jars at the register)...lots of classified ads...typical UF sports articles...the "worship guide" listing various Christian and Jewish places to go (and which ones serve cheap food for students)...a couple of crossword puzzles...there's going to be a free classical music concert tonight at the downtown plaza (I have to work, though)...assorted other articles...(sigh) I guess, upon inspection the Alligator is better than I had been rating it. But nothing that really captivates my interest, though. I did find that the ads were more interesting than the articles. And I'm going to have to bring up the tips scandal with my Starbucks manager pal the the next time I run into him. But then again, I don't quite get the whole business about tips at places where I have to stand in line to order, pay, and pick up my product! Seems like I should be bringing my own tip jar for THEM to contribute to, seeing how much I'm contributing to their business!

Flow With the Rhythm

We all know of the ebb and flow of tides and the moon phases. We know of the various seasons, depending on what part of the world we’re thinking about. There are a multitude of cycles and rhythms within our own bodies. Instinctively, we understand that it is important to recognize these rhythms on at least some level and to not go against them. But rhythms permeate our lives on levels that we sometimes fail to recognize, to our detriment.

I couldn’t begin to count how many times I’ve been driving out on the road and have gotten boxed into slow traffic behind a slow car. Or just found myself stuck in very sluggish, heavy traffic. Or was trying to pull onto a congested street from a side road, wondering against hope whether there would ever be an opening for me to slip through. But in each of these scenarios, there is a rhythm to the flow of traffic that will allow for me to pull through. All I need to do is just drive safely and have faith that I’ll get though eventually. Often, in situations like these, I’ll begin to think about something else, and then suddenly realize that the traffic situation had cleared up and that I am miles down the road! The same situation that applies to traffic also applies to standing in lines. There is no need to get all worked up with impatience over things that are governed by systemic rhythms. If I just allow myself to “go with the flow”, then I’ll get what I need.

There is one thing that can interrupt the rhythmic flow of things like traffic and lines: deadlines. If I feel as if I’m going to be late somewhere, then the natural flow of traffic is going to seem to be my enemy, instead of something that I need to be a part of. The same goes with standing in line somewhere. Suddenly, every delay, no matter how insignificant and predictable, seems to be magnified into something like an evil conspiracy to hinder me from reaching my destination. The antidote for this, of course, is to give myself plenty of time to do things and get to places, so that, if anything, I’m going to be a little early, not late.

There is also a rhythm to human relations, with the various parties alternating between passive and active roles in relation to each other. Each person has a certain temperament that generally places them at a certain point on the active/passive scale where they’re in a “comfort zone”, and this differs from person to person. The trick in interpersonal relationships is for each side to recognize the other's “comfort zone” and with rhythmic ease alternate between one zone and the other. Hence, no need for impatience, dominance, or feelings of victimization, since all are accommodated, recognized, and respected in their turn.

I’ve just touched on a little of the types of ways that rhythm pervades our lives. It’s everywhere, actually. How well we can pick it out and flow with it will, to a large part, determine how well we can adapt ourselves to and enjoy the world around us.

Favorite Songs of 1980

1980 was full of good music. The Supertramp album Breakfast in America, released the previous year, spun off several popular tracks this year, among them Take the Long Way Home, Goodbye Stranger, and the title song. They also released a single, Dreamer, that I liked. Christoper Cross made his entry into popular music with two great singles: his powerful, exciting Ride Like the Wind and the placid Sailing. Olivia Newton John had two of my favorites: Magic and Xanadu (in collaboration with Electric Light Orchestra). Speaking of ELO, their Last Train to London was another of their likable "disco" tunes. One of my favorites of Bob Seger's, Fire Lake (similar to Night Moves) came out in '80. The Police had two terrific singles with Don't Stand So Close to Me and De Do Do Do De Da Da Da . The Korgis had their one hit, but a great one, in their dreamy Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime. Gary Numan's Cars, Smokey Robinson's Cruisin' ( a carry-over from 1979), and Eddie Rabbit's Drivin' My Live Away gave a "road" theme to the year. Linda Rondstadt's relatively obscure I Can't Let Go should have been a monster hit. One of Jackson Browne's best ever, That Girl Could Sing, dominated the airwaves in the second half of the year. Pink Floyd's double album The Wall produced several hits, one of my favorites being the frantic Run Like Hell. Paul McCartney made a comeback of sorts with his likable, upbeat Coming Up. John Lennon teamed up with his wife Yoko Ono to produce his Double Fantasy album, but his life was tragically cut short on December 8, 1980. He had two posthumous hits with Woman and Watching the Wheels. Stevie Nicks, recording under the banner of Fleetwood Mac, had her beautiful Sara out in '80. The Cars had one of their minor hits this year, but one nevertheless that I really took to (with it's spooky string-sounding background): Touch and Go (my #3 favorite song from 1980). Lipps, Inc. came out with my #2 song with their rousing dance hit Funkytown. And my #1 favorite song of that year was Queen's also-funky Another One Bites the Dust.

Political Feedback Loops

There is a concept in sociology (as well as in other disciplines) known as the “feedback loop” that skeptic Michael Shermer has gone to great lengths to describe and apply to his rationale for Why People Believe Weird Things (a title of one of his books). In a very rough nutshell, a feedback loop is a scenario where a group of people, relatively insulated from others, tends to congregate and tell each other their special takes on things. Within a feedback loop, there is a tendency to avoid contradictory input while anything contributed that reinforces what is being promoted is accepted. The result is a group of people tending to believe in things that the society as a whole may find extreme, deviant, or just plain weird. This phenomenon is very common within religious groups, but it can extend to politics as well.

And now we come to Reverend Jeremiah Wright and his feedback loop. The main problem with Wright, as I see it, is that he has surrounded himself with like-minded people who either echo his sentiments or contribute more input that confirms his opinions, while shunning and even condemning those who hold different opinions. So, as a result, you see this individual giving speeches condemning America or tastelessly ridiculing the Clintons while those around him are both emotionally and intellectually completely in sync with whatever he says. The danger with a feedback loop is that, once you step out of it, you stand a very good chance of being heavily criticized (or even worse, thoroughly ridiculed) for your expressed idiosyncratic views. And this is what has happened with Reverend Wright, to the detriment of Barack Obama’s campaign.

A similar thing happened earlier this year on conservative talk radio. The hosts of these shows have continually highlighted their special pet issues with their own special spins on them. They welcome compliant, agreeing callers while dismissing dissenting callers with insults and name-calling. They also tend to chum around with each other a lot. This is another feedback loop, although in fairness, it must be said that they are not even remotely as insulated as, say---Reverend Wright and his circle. So when it began to look as if John McCain was going to obtain the Republican nomination for President, some of these talk show folks made a spectacle of themselves putting down McCain, even to the point of saying that they would support a Democrat over him. Once they stepped outside of their feedback loop, which was their talk-show circuit, and into the general media, they too, became the object of great criticism and ridicule.

But going back to Reverend Wright, I must say that some of the things that he has been saying tend to mesh with a take on the United States and its behavior in the world arena that their more conservative critics call the “Blame America First” movement. You may have heard some of the names of folks who "line up" this way: Noam Chomsky, Gore Vidal, Cynthia McKinney, and abroad, led by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. In essence this political philosophy, which is reinforced among its adherents through a sort of loose feedback-loop, claims that many, if not most of the world’s problems can be laid at the doorstep of the United States. Also, they tend to claim that the mainstream media has become nothing more than a compliant arm of the government, and that only through “alternative” media can the truth come out. Of course, the idea of promoting a reinforcing source of information to the feedback loop, while discouraging the use of sources that may tend to mitigate any harm that America is doing in the world, just strengthens the loop among those inside it. And separates them more as extremist from the population at-large. Unfortunately, it appears that some close to Barack Obama, including possibly his own wife, may be within this particular loop.

As I have previously written on this blog, I tend to be center-left on the political spectrum. But I watch, listen, and read material from a wide range of viewpoints. I’ve seen how people are seduced by political feedback loops and I want nothing to do with them (except to point them out to others). And if Obama is “in sync” with Hugo Chavez regarding America’s proper role in the world, then I need to know it now rather than later, when it might be too late.

Be Gentle With Yourself

Often I use this blog to express ideas for self-improvement. Mainly for MY self-improvement! And sometimes, especially when I read back over some of my writings, I feel a bit overwhelmed and pressured by what I seem to have been putting over on myself. There are some important areas in my life, to be sure, that I need improvement in. But I also need to relax a bit and enjoy the ride (through life) as well. As Max Ehrmann said in his wonderful exhortation Desiderata, “Be gentle with yourself.” After all, regardless of where I’m at in the world and what my surroundings are, there is one constant: my own thoughts and behavior always comprise my most immediate and influential environment. And if I can make that environment one of pleasantness, gentleness, and composure, I’ve already gone most of the way toward improving my lot in life!

It’s just as important to set aside some time each day to sit back, without the TV blaring or making frequent compulsive trips to the refrigerator, and quietly (without falling asleep) sit and relax, deliberately thinking about pleasant things while putting away whatever is currently causing any anxiety. It’s this sense of serenity, a calmness in the midst of the storm, that will ultimately carry me through the inevitable challenges and trials that tend to come to all of us at various times. Yes, the problems will still be there, on the outside. But I’ll be here on the inside, effectively dealing with them in an inner atmosphere of a calm, positive spirit. And the tumults and vicissitudes of “rat-race” living will not bring me down!

Monday Newsbreak: 3/31

--When listening to different takes on the “surge” in Iraq, I hear two basically different points of view, both valid, within their limitations. The first, generally espoused by supporters of President Bush, claims that the surge has been a success. By making agreements with Sunni leaders disillusioned by the presence of Al-Qaeda in their midst, the U.S. was able to take back for the Iraqi government territory that had been in the control of insurgents. And that has indeed happened. So to that extent, the surge HAS been successful. But the Iraqi government was then supposed to take advantage of this improved situation on the ground and pass reconciliation legislation that would give all of the major factions within Iraq a sense of participation and security. It is in this area, as detractors of the surge’s effectiveness claim, that the surge is not coming to fruition. And if too much time passes without realizing true reconciliation there, then it all will have been in vain.

--The presidential campaign continues, and after the recent flack about Barack Obama’s pastor and Hillary Clinton’s exaggerations about her experience, not much has changed. Obama is still leading Clinton in delegates, primaries won, and states won. In national polls he leads against both Clinton and John McCain. The only change I am seeing is an increasing number of Democrats beginning to urge Hillary to back out, either now or at least not long after the April 22 Pennsylvania Primary results are revealed.

--A giant 160 square-mile chunk of Antarctic ice just dropped off into the ocean, continuing the undeniable trend of polar ice melting. In the U.S., we had a relatively late winter due to the La Niña effect, causing some (especially folks like Rush Limbaugh) to question the existence of global warming. But friends, it hasn’t gone away!

--The University of Florida Gators men’s basketball team has made the “final four” for the National Invitation Tournament. The next game is tomorrow evening. Florida has shown itself to be an NCAA Tournament-caliber team through its excellent play in the NIT. In the NCAA tourney, I predict a North Carolina-UCLA final next week, with the UCLA Bruins prevailing in that one.

I'm Back!

Well, what can I say? I just couldn't stay away, could I?! Even though I'm back today on this blog, however, I'm not planning on writing anything long. The last two or three days have seen a resurgence of my respiratory allergies with a vengeance. I had my hands full just concentrating on getting through each day. The respite from my allergies that I enjoyed last year apparently wasn't permanent. Instead of taking over-the-counter products to alleviate the symptoms, I'm probably going to have to get a referral to see an allergist for more effective relief. After all, I enjoy being outdoors, and am even planning to spend a lot of time running cross-country this year. But not with things as they currently stand!

In the days ahead, from time to time I may publish some rather short blog entries, just to keep the discipline and continuity going. Having gaps in my blog just isn't cool with me!

Blog Break

I'm going to be taking a break from this blog for a few days, at least through the end of March. Please feel free to check out my archives, which go back to April of last year.

Favorite Songs of 1981

For 1981, I generally just listened to the average top-40 radio stations around for my music. This is because music had not yet been split up and over-specialized on different stations according to genre. There was a good mix of all types of popular music to listen to without changing the dial! The Moody Blues had two good songs I liked from 1981 in The Voice and Gemini Dream. Rising star Sheena Easton beat that with three: For Your Eyes Only, Morning Train (9 to 5), and Modern Girl. British bands Queen and ELO each came out with different-sounding tunes in Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Hang On Tight, respectively. Time got the "treatment" by the Alan Parsons Project with Time and by Styx with their classic Too Much Time On My Hands. Rush's phenomenal album Moving Pictures came out this year (it would be eleven more years before I discovered it) and with it, the unique, weird hit Tom Sawyer. Neil Diamond showed his patriotic side with America. Hank Williams Jr.'s A Country Boy Will Survive is one of my all-time country favorites. The Theme from Hill Street Blues, by Mike Post, was my favorite instrumental from 1981. Juice Newton hit the big time this year with her Queen of Hearts, a song that may have entered into Tom Petty's subconscious when he dreamed up his Running Down a Dream a few years later. Rod Stewart told a poignant story of a young couple in love in Young Turks. REO Speedwagon came out with a "Bo Diddley-beat" song: Don't Let Him Go. Dan Fogelberg's Same Old Lang Syne was a great seasonal song about a tender but bittersweet reunion. Blondie's tribute to rap music, Rapture, wasn't such a big hit with me in 1981, but it grew over the years and is now by far my favorite of that group. Swing Town, by the Steve Miller Band, and Sausalito Summernight, by Diesel, were two similar-sounding early autumn "happy" songs. Hall and Oates came out with three great tunes in '81: Kiss on My List, Private Eyes (my #3 favorite from that year, and I Can't Go For That (my #2 favorite). My top record from 1981 had to be Kim Carnes, scratchy voice and all, belting out her memorable Bette Davis Eyes, a song that, in spite of hearing it played so often, I never tired of listening to.

Reading on the Eights: 3/26

I split up my reading three ways during the last eight weeks: science fiction, Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and trying out some other authors.

I finished reading Isaac Asimov's The Robots of Dawn and then followed that up with his final robot novel, Robots and Empire. These books were a part of Asimov's general future narrative of robots, interstellar travel and settlement, empire, and finally, the Foundation. I have heard that even novels of his that are ostensibly independent of this narrative are still linked by some references within them. But Isaac Asimov is only one writer of many who do this, Stephen King being another one.

I have just completed The Wastelands, Stephen King's third of seven novels in his Dark Tower series. A few weeks earlier, I had read through book #2: The Drawing of the Three. In a nutshell, the premise of the Dark Tower series is that a "gunslinger" named Roland, in a future and deteriorating world, is searching for the Dark Tower, which reputedly holds the universe together through "beams". But something has gone dreadfully wrong in the Dark Tower, something of an evil nature, and Roland is on a mission to remedy matters. Along the way, he has several improbable contacts with our contemporary world and its people. A combination of science fiction and fantasy, King admits that he was inspired for this series by Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. The writing is great! I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to Roland. And like Asimov's stories, King has allowed elements of his Dark Tower saga to seep into a few of his other works.

Rounding out my reading, I tried out a couple of popular mystery/suspense writers: Mary Higgins Clark and Dean Koontz. I finished Clark's Nighttime is My Time, a stereotypical whodunnit murder mystery, with the author casting suspicion on half the characters in the novel before the villain is "unmasked" at the end. The writing was pleasant to follow and the reading went quickly. But I didn't particularly enjoy the story. For Koontz, I read his Shattered, which is another stereotypical story, this one about a cross-country road trip where the protagonists are pursued by a murderous predator. I liked Koontz's writing more than Clark's, but the endings of both novels were both predictable and flat (to me). I've also just begun reading Sue Grafton's novel "B" Is For Burglar. I've already read her "A" and "L" entries in this alphabetically entitled series, and I can attest that she is a great mystery writer!

I've also, during the past eight weeks, resumed reading science fiction short stories, beginning with works from the early 1930s, such as The Evolved Man (by Edmond Hamilton), The Jameson Satellite (by Neil R. Jones), Submicroscopic, and Awlo of Ulm (the last two by Capt. S.P. Meek). I plan to continue this as a sideline to my reading of novels until I've read all the short stories in my pretty-large collection.

Silent Speech

Confession time: I have a lousy habit of talking out loud to myself. I'm not referring to angry mumbling, which is a completely different matter. What I mean is that sometimes I will be thinking about a particular subject and, while working it out in my mind, I will talk aloud to myself. Now to others, this probably doesn't look so cool. So what I'd like to do is something that sounds a bit paradoxical: speak silently.

When we (or at least I) think silently, we take mental shortcuts and don't think in full, grammatically and semantically-correct sentences. We tend to hop around from one topic to another, and allow emotions and "tape-playing" to sway our thoughts. That is one big reason why I tend to talk out my thoughts: to expose them to a kind of feedback-test (through my own ears) as to how viable and rational they are. But I don't need to audibly vocalize my thoughts when I do this. To think in a "silent speech" manner would impose the discipline of concentration on thoughts, pushing back unwanted distractions (at least from conscious thinking).

Instead of talking to myself, I need to cultivate the skill of "silent speech", whereby my thoughts are produced within me with the same structure and content that would be acceptable writing or speech, without the mental shortcuts. At first, this would tend to slow down and even hamper my progression of thoughts, but in the end it will be a good exercise that will pay future dividends in my writing, speech, and avoid having people look at me as if I'm crazy!

Silent speech is a form of thinking that I am setting aside time for. I believe that many good writers and speakers already have trained themselves to be good at this, without necessarily knowing what they were doing. I've read that the late prolific writer Isaac Asimov claimed that he was always writing, even when he wasn't physically doing so. He had trained himself to think in a writing-friendly manner, and his memory was such that he could think up long sections of material and then later faithfully reproduce it on paper! I don't know how far I'll be able to go with this, but I do know that it's worth a sustained effort!

Monday Newsbreak: 3/24

--US and Russian officials have been meeting to discuss possibilities for some agreement regarding missiles and missile defense. The Russians are obviously concerned that we are engaging in treaties and missile defense agreements with nations that had earlier been part of the Warsaw Pact or the Soviet Union itself. Although I support my country's interests, I also concede that the Russians have a point: "defensive" measures can often appear to be offensive. I remember the concern during the Cold War that the Soviet Union had in place a much greater civil defense system than did the West. And this led to the accusation that their civil defense efforts were so much emphasized because they thought they could outlast, and thus win, a massive nuclear exchange between the two sides.

--Comedian Sinbad, who accompanied then-First Lady Hillary Clinton once during the nineties to on a visit to Bosnia, had some of his best lines when he sarcastically deflated her claim that she had braved sniper fire and was on a dangerous mission back then. Hillary's not-so-witty retort was that he was a comedian! I have an idea for a new "fantasy" series: The Adventures of Lady Hillary. There wouldn't be any concern about offending anyone since all of the stories would clearly be pure fiction!

--Legendary science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke died at age 90 this past Wednesday. He was best known for his Space Odyssey series that produced four books and two movies. To me, Clarke's vision of us having permanent moon bases by 1999 always made me feel that we had lost our dream and determination to conquer space after our initial Apollo moon successes.

--One of the criticisms of Reverend Jeremiah Wright has been that he claimed that America had brought on the 9/11 attacks by its foreign policy. And Barack Obama is somehow guilty by letting this guy be his pastor. But I distinctly remember John McCain coddling the late Reverend Jerry Falwell, who claimed that 9/11 was a divine judgement against America's decline in morality. Personally, I think that anything that a religious leader says needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I've heard utter nonsense from those of various faiths as well as some thoroughly asinine statements made in churches I've attended. I've gotten to the point where I just expect those in religious authority to make ridiculous comments, and maybe I've numbed myself a bit to them. Could this also be how Barack Obama has reacted to his pastor's diatribes?

--In college basketball, both the NCAA and NIT tournaments have begun. I've been having a bit of difficulty with enthusiasm for the NCAA tourney, since my University of Florida Gators weren't good enough this year to make it. UF is doing quite well so far in the National Invitation "runner-up" Tournament, having easily won its first two games (making it one of eight teams remaining). The big test will be tomorrow when they head out west to face Arizona State.

Bible Observations: Genesis 9

I know that it’s been a while since my last entry in this series, but I haven’t given up! I’m still plugging away, but like usual, there are a few serious questions arising from my reading.

As we pick up with Genesis 9, the Flood’s waters have subsided and Noah, with his family and the animals from the Ark, are left to repopulate the Earth. God makes a covenant with Noah and his sons, signified by a rainbow. But, as I read the passage, I also noticed that God’s covenant was also with every living creature as well. Now, how can anyone of a faith that points to the Bible for inspiration read this and then belittle the desperate efforts some people are making across this country and around the rest of the world to save endangered species from extinction? The idea that societies may need to sometimes restrict their economic development in specific cases in the interests of other “living creatures” is BIBLICAL, not just something that leftist “tree-huggers” advocate.

Also, in this passage God demands an accounting from any man who sheds the blood of his fellow man. Now I know that one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses was really “Thou shalt not murder”, not “Thou shalt not kill.” This apparently has been interpreted to mean that the accountability to God for shedding another’s blood is “exempted” in the case of war. But to me, all this interpretation really means is that those powerful enough to amass and direct armies can get away with murder, while the relatively powerless are subject to full accountability for killing others.

Genesis Chapter 9’s last half deals with a very puzzling and disturbing tale regarding Noah and his sons. Noah had become drunk one night and passed out naked in his tent. His youngest son, Ham, entered his father’s tent and saw his nakedness. Ham then went and told this to his older brothers Shem and Japheth. The two more righteous brothers then entered their father’s tent backwards (so as not to see him) and laid a garment over him to cover his body. Upon awakening, Noah apparently was able to automatically figure out everything that had happened and condemned Ham while praising Shem and Japheth. This doesn’t make any sense to me! It seems (to me) that there was much more to this story than was finally written into scripture. Nakedness in ancient times wasn’t the big taboo that it would later become. And Noah’s quick sizing-up of the situation, as well as his apparent overreaction, doesn’t make any sense either. This bears more investigation. After the telling of that tent incident, Genesis 9 informs us that Noah lived 350 more years, finally dying at the age of 950.

I sadly suspect that the tale of Ham’s offense against Noah was inserted into scripture in order to justify the putting down of those nations further south in Africa whose people have been assigned the designation of “Hamites”, or descendants of Ham.

Personally, I feel that Genesis 9 is an example of what is wrong with some religious people today. If a passage revealing God’s covenant with all of Earth’s living creatures creates some inconvenience or discomfort, then, well, it can simply be ignored. And if, as with the tale of Noah and Ham in the tent, a story makes no sense, then it is somehow a matter of faith to just gloss over the story’s inconsistencies and manufacture some kind of moral lesson from it.

Barack Obama, Reverend Wright, and the Media

It's been known for quite a long time that Barack Obama has had a political firebrand for a pastor in Reverend Jeremiah Wright. But now that he is approaching victory to become the Democratic Party nominee, the mainstream media has taken hold of Obama's association with Reverend Wright and won't let go. This, to me, is an abdication of journalism.

Since the issue of Wright's critical diatribes has been widely known for a long time, the media has been at fault for not bringing it to light earlier. The timing for doing so now is nothing less than contrived and cynical. Leading the charge against Obama is, as expected, right-wing conservative talk radio. But another element has creeped into this issue that I am at a loss to explain. Karl Rove, who was George W. Bush's chief political strategist and who has been accused of assorted dirty campaign tricks in the past, is no longer officially connected with the Bush Administration. But Rove obviously has a reputation as being extremely partisan and manipulative. So why is it, then, that all of the major news networks are repeatedly welcoming him on the air to interview him about Obama's "pastor problem"? Rove always puts on a concerned, "objective" demeanor, pretending to be fair toward Obama while slamming him mercilessly. Over and over again, interview by interview. I don't get what the folks on these channels are thinking. Unless maybe some of them are hoping against hope that this issue will ruin Obama's campaign and hand the nomination to Hillary Clinton!

It does seem pretty peculiar to me that lately, the right-wing interests in this country seem to have lightened up on Hillary Clinton. First, John McCain's "disappointing" triumph on the Republican side caused some of them to even tacitly endorse Hillary. Now that Obama is approaching winning the Democratic nomination, the Republicans want to prevent the Democrats from reuniting under their candidate. So they attack the leader, Obama. And this plays into the desperate last-gasp efforts on the part of the Clinton campaign to reach out and try anything to derail him. Apparently, they are not anywhere as interested in returning the Democrats to power as they are in just returning themselves to power! Otherwise, why wouldn't Hillary Clinton come out in support of Barack Obama regarding this Reverend Wright issue? Even John McCain stood up for Obama a few weeks ago when he felt a local Ohio talk show host had gone too far with his criticisms of the Illinois Democrat.

Barack Obama has repeatedly disavowed the provocative statements of Reverent Wright, but that's apparently not good enough. But consider this: if you're opposed to Obama becoming President, then you're going to embrace anything that could hinder his campaign. But suppose you are an Obama supporter or haven't yet decided. Then doesn't this Reverend Wright controversy seem just more than a little over the top and contrived? Why would you allow people like Sean Hannity or Karl Rove to make up your mind for you?

Entitlement Blues

I have a few words to say on the subject of entitlement. I’m not specifically referring to the common usage of the term in reference to government “entitlement” programs that conservatives take great pleasure in railing against. I’m more interested in the generic way that people like to use entitlement to manipulate their lives.

It’s easy to turn on the TV and see politicians behaving as if they were entitled to be elected to a particular office. The most glaring example of this in recent years has been the Bush and Clinton families. First, George H.W. Bush was supposedly entitled to public office because of the legacy of his father, Connecticut Senator Prescott Bush. Then, “H.W.”’s kids, George W. and Jeb, were entitled to governor positions because of their father. And then, we were supposed to crown “Dubya” as President because “Daddy Bush”’s influence would obviously be imparted on his son and make us all feel so very secure. And now Hillary Clinton is pulling the same stunt, suggesting that as President, it’ll just be a happy-feely continuation of the Bill Clinton years. And I get the definite impression that she feels that Barack Obama is usurping her entitlement to that office! After all, it takes an awful lot of gall to suggest that Obama be her running mate as Vice-President when he’s leading in votes, delegates, and states won! Of course, political entitlement is nothing new. It’s as old as our country, and is very commonplace at the state level nowadays (Kennedy, Rockefeller, Romney, Dodd, Gore, Pryor, Bayh, Bennett, Sununu, Landrieu, Long, Murkowski, and Chafee are names of families with father/son, father/daughter, and husband/wife political “inheritances”).

But there is a sense of entitlement that permeates all of us, and to some extent I suppose that the pervasive advertising in our lives can be partially blamed. By this I mean that it’s very easy for us to look around and see what somebody else has and then say, “I work just as hard (or harder) as them, I deserve that, too!” And of course, Madison Avenue also says we deserve it! It wasn’t always so easy to buy things on credit as it is nowadays. The way I see things is that I like material things as much as the next guy. But I can be satisfied with a reasonably-priced priced product instead of a deluxe model with all the bells and whistles (and a much higher price tag). The concept of “enough” is something that I desperately wish would creep into the psyche of others so that I wouldn’t sometimes be made to feel that I’m “selling myself short” by “settling” for “lesser value” when I know, deep in my heart, that the question of what one is really entitled to has nothing to do with the excuses that people make to cover their material greed (or political ambition).

Favorite Songs of 1982

Caveat: If you reach this entry through a search engine while looking for some audio files or a comprehensive review of the year's music, I feel that it's only fair to let you know that I'm just going over the songs that I personally liked the very most from 1982 (as I lived through it then). So chances are that some or all of your favorites may not even be mentioned here!

1982 was a year full of memorable songs for me. Vangelis had his stirring monument to the noble and apparently dying institution of amateur sports with Chariots of Fire. My favorite Kenny Rogers song came out this year: his sweet Love Will Turn You Around. Journey's slow, mellow Still They Ride, although not one of their greatest hits, was still my favorite of theirs. Soft Cell's only major hit, Tainted Love, was a classic nevertheless (and extremely funny, intentionally or not). Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes teamed up to produce the beautiful love song Up Where We Belong. Dancer Toni Basil had her only big hit with her bubble gum/cheerleading tribute Mickey. My favorite Toto tune, Africa, came out late in the year, as did Men At Work's "geographical" contribution: Down Under (about Australia). The Who made their comeback after drummer Keith Moon's death with their emotional, happy You Better You Bet. Gypsy was another great Stevie Nicks song done under the banner of Fleetwood Mac. 1982 was the year I became aware of former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel when he came out with his "shocking" and interesting Shock the Monkey. Supertramp's last good song of any consequence was their sad It's Raining Again. Robert Plant started his post-Led Zeppelin solo career sounding just like his old band with Burning Down One Side. The Split Enz "got me" on their side with their I Got You. Pat Benatar's Promises in the Dark was an initially slow-then-speeding up song that left me breathless at the end. Paul McCartney' Take It Away was a rare contribution of his that I liked. Billy Joel's sociopolitically-themed Nylon Curtain, (in my opinion) his last great LP, contained three great tracks: Allentown, Goodnight Saigon, and Pressure, my third favorite song from 1982. The west coast new wave band Missing Persons, featuring singer Dale Bozzio, hit the big time this year with Words and Destination Unknown, my #2 song from 1982. And while I lived back then during that year, there was one song that I could never get enough of: Genesis's screaming, keyboard-intensive, long jam session: Abacab.

Capital Punishment

I am an opponent of capital punishment. On the surface, the idea of making those guilty of taking someone else's life pay with their own seems to be one of simple, intuitively obvious justice. But there are a few problems I see with this.

First of all, the above argument falls apart when considering capital cases that don't deal with murder. For those crimes, there is NO compelling reason to consider capital punishment. But for the sake of argument, let's just consider the crime of murder. In our country at least, in order to get a death sentence for a murder, the convicted has to be shown to have committed the act in a premeditated way. Now it's going to be a lot easier to demonstrate that one killed another than it is to get inside the killer's mind and demonstrate, through a back-trail of their actions, some sort of premeditation. So the very thing that could sentence one to death (instead of life in prison) can be very subjective to determine. And the final determination thus may be made while unconsciously taking into account personal characteristics about the guilty that the judge and/or jury disapprove of. Things like race, speech, general appearance, tattoos, scars, facial expression, what part of the "tracks" they live on, and so on.

There is also evidence that African-Americans are given death sentences for first-degree murder convictions to a much higher degree than are others. For this reason alone, capital punishment should be abolished in favor of life in prison without parole. I'm no expert in law, but it seems to me that killing someone because of their race has to be the most extreme example of a civil rights violation!

And speaking of civil rights violations, even more repugnant (as repugnant as that is) than doling out differing life-or-death decisions based on race is executing those are are really innocent of their crimes. Recently, DNA testing has shown that many death row inmates were actually completely innocent! Now I know that the justice system can't be absolutely perfect, and that sometimes the innocent are wrongly convicted. But if an inmate is discovered to be innocent while in prison, he (or she) can still be released to enjoy the rest of their life in freedom. But once executed, there is no reversal of the error in justice, and the state has killed an innocent person!

Finally, I hear from time to time that capital punishment is a deterrent to murder. And maybe it is, at least marginally. But with the plague of murders committed in our country annually, especially in contrast with the relatively low incidence of murder in other Western nations, having the state selectively kill certain perpetrators (to me) completely skirts the problem. And the problem is that we, in our American society, promote, even extol violence. For some perverse reason, the idea is prevalent in our land that if someone wrongs you or even simply shows disrespect toward you, then you should (if you have any self-respect) retaliate by committing violence against the perceived offender. This goes all the way back to school-yard fights between kids. The kid who walks away from a taunt instead of fighting is usually branded a "sissy" or another derogatory term, which sometimes sticks with him for years. Popular TV series, movies and music that extol violence play a large role in fostering the culture of violence among the population. To me, it seems to be almost like a drug, for which some people have to continually get a "fix"!

There is one other aspect to capital punishment that I would like to raise. And that is the issue of "closure" for the murder victim's family and friends. I have noticed on many occasions that many years transpire between a convicted murderer being sentenced to death and the actual execution. In that period are numerous appeals and hearings. And these compel those who were close to the victim to attend them and repeatedly relive the trauma, sadness, and anger surrounding their loss. Although it may not satisfy the blood lust for revenge that some may feel against a murderer, a life sentence without parole would put closure at the time of sentencing and avoid the appeals and hearings that create so much unnecessary suffering. Then those families and friends could finally reach a sense of peace about their loss and go on with their lives.

So you see that I have quite a few reasons for opposing capital punishment. Do premeditated murderers deserve to die? Sure! But let's not be the ones who kill them. Let them be reminded each day for the rest of their lives why they have been put away from society in a locked cage!

Foreign Languages on the Eights: 3/18

Almost all of us have things that we want to accomplish or improve upon in our lives. And effecting the changes that enable us to realize our goals usually involve both investing time and changing entrenched habits. All of which can make for a very interesting life, if one has the tenacity and courage to take on his or her dreams, that is. But I’ve found that trying to change several areas of my life at the same time can be awfully difficult, even counterproductive.
Sometimes I think that I tend to spread my goals out too much and try to fulfill to much at one time. Perhaps it would be better to prioritize what I’m trying to do and concentrate on only the most important goals in my efforts. After all, not only are there only twenty-four hours in a day, but, as you already know, that time is diminished by the demands of living to the point where it can be a struggle to find time to work on personal endeavors. Often I find that, even when I have some available time to work on something, I am too mentally or emotionally exhausted to focus on what I need to do.

In the sections of this blog that I refer to as “The Eights” (based on the Weather Channel’s use of that term to give local weather forecasts every eight minutes), I report, at eight-week intervals, on various self-improvement projects that I have been working on. But often I come to the time that I need to report on a particular area and find that I had been neglecting it. So, I wonder whether or not I’m spreading myself out too thin by trying to do too many different things. One major example is foreign language study.

Since my late teens, I’ve been interested in foreign languages, having studied several over the past few decades. But I’m never going to reach a reasonable level of proficiency in any of them if I keep hopping around from one language to another. For the past few months, I had been studying Vietnamese. But my progress has bogged down a bit, not because of a lack of interest or ability. It’s just that I’ve let other things encroach on my study time, as well as the creeping feeling that my foreign language study would be better served by concentrating instead on a language that I am much further down the road on toward proficiency. So, with this in mind, I am trimming my goals a bit to studying in an intensive manner just Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Chinese. I recognize that, even in doing this I am still spreading myself out quite a bit. But, unlike with other languages (like Vietnamese), I already understand quite a lot in these five languages and feel that I am close to crossing learning thresholds in all of them. So, from here on, I will be concentrating on them in my foreign language study and will report “on the eights” about my progress in this regard. Without abandoning my already-attained knowledge of Vietnamese.

Monday Newsbreak: 3/17

--On Friday night, right in the middle of the Southeastern Conference college basketball tournament taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, tornadoes ripped through the city, even damaging the site of the games (the Georgia Dome) and sending debris onto the court and the players. Estimates have the damage to businesses and homes around $200 million, but so far no deaths have been reported. Is it just my imagination, or is this sort of thing happening much too often during the past few weeks?!!

--A crusading moralist, former Attorney General and New York Governor Eliot Spitzer showed his utterly base hypocrisy when the facts of his multiple prostitute liaisons came out. Mr. Spitzer, during his reign as NY Attorney General, never seemed to have any compunction about ruining anyone else’s career because of their mistakes. And all the while, the state’s chief law enforcement official was recklessly breaking it himself. Not that I think that his having sex with prostitutes should have been against the law in the first place. To me, that is a matter between him and his wife. If Spitzer hadn’t used his oh-so pious and self-righteous public demeanor to further his political career at the expense of others, I would probably be of the opinion that he should be left alone to sort out his personal problems as a private matter, and to remain as New York Governor. But it was he who placed himself so high on his public pedestal, and now it’s crashed!

--A crisis is developing in western China as violent confrontations have erupted between Tibetan protesters and the Chinese government authorities. With the press as tightly controlled as it is there, reported deaths are hard to confirm, but the figure ranges from 30 to over 100. Personally, I have no problem with the Chinese maintaining that Tibet is a part of their country. But I do object to the suppression of Tibetan Buddhist expression and autonomy in that region, starting with the exile since 1959 of the Dalai Lama. Why can’t they see that a Buddhist Tibet with some autonomy is an asset to their country and not a liability? And this happening just a few months before China hosts the Summer Olympics.

--The University of Florida men’s basketball team has gone into a late-season slump (four straight losses) and missed out on the (already remote) chance to defend their National Championship. But I’m looking forward to seeing how the Gators do in the National Invitation Tournament (starting this Wednesday). As for the NCAA tourney, I’m pulling for teams like Tennessee, Georgia, Vanderbilt, and North Carolina. I suspect, though, that this may indeed be UCLA’s season to win it all! Last night, I was watching ESPN’s “bracketology” program analyzing the tournament’s selections and matchups. Among the analysts were “Mr. Enthusiasm” Dick Vitale and former Indiana and Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight. For some reason, Vitale, who is usually humorous and upbeat, seemed agitated and uptight. And Knight, known for his on-court chair tossing and cursing at press conferences, was very calm, polite, and professional as he expressed his opinions. Who would have thought it?

Now or Never

Being 51 years old can be seen in different ways, some positive and some negative. One positive way is that I have amassed enough personal memories and experiences during my lifetime so far to arrive at some conclusions regarding “how things are”. And one of the conclusions I have reached is that opportunities tend to run in cycles. What I mean by this is that if I screw up in some area of my life, I need to realize that at some future point I will again get the chance to realize my goals and not to get overwrought with feelings of failure.

As a young person, I often felt that I was in “now or never” situations, especially regarding my academic and career goals. And while it’s true that, at this stage in my life, I am not likely to be entering medical school to train as a physician, it’s also true that, within the academic spectrum, the vast majority of fields are still wide open for me to pursue! And, of course, there are age restrictions imposed on those seeking certain careers, such as, for example, the military. But the range of opportunities is so vast that a small number of closed doors pales in comparison. In athletics, I believed in my youth that I had better make my mark then because older people were naturally less athletic and couldn’t compete in sports. But as I have grown older, I have discovered a greater, purer joy in participating in athletics that I didn’t properly appreciate in bygone years. And since many sports have age levels built into their structures, I can usually participate in an age-appropriate level. For example, I am looking forward sometime this year to running a local 5 Kilometer road race. The best finishing times will, no doubt, go to those who are much younger than me. But I’ll also be competing with other runners in my age group! It’s also been said that for one to learn to speak a foreign language or to learn how to play a musical instrument, it is necessary to take advantage of a window of opportunity that exists in early childhood. But I’m in my fifties, and I derive great pleasure in studying both piano and several foreign languages.

As long as people are breathing and can think for themselves in this life, they need to adopt the notion that they have choices and opportunities. The notion permeating our youth of “now or never” is a pernicious lie that has caused untold needless suffering. In truth, there is plenty, plenty of time in life to accomplish and experience all kinds of rewarding and interesting things!

My Top Ten Favorite Ringo Songs

Although Beatles drummer Ringo Starr isn't known for his creative influence on their works, he has recorded some memorable music, both as a Beatle and as a solo artist. Here are my top ten favorites of Ringo's songs:

#10: It Don't Come Easy
This was Ringo's first singles release after the Beatles breakup, and it was very popular. I liked it, too, although I felt that it was way overplayed. A funny thing happened in conjunction with this song back then in early 1971. On several different occasions, I would be sitting around when suddenly I would feel prompted to turn on my radio. And time after time, the song being played would be It Don't Come Easy! Although I was beginning to think that I had psychic powers, this never did work with any other songs during the following years (and decades).

#9: Yellow Submarine
Yellow Submarine was the Beatles' "feel good" song in the midst of their final years of turmoil, although it actually appeared on their Revolver (UK) album in 1966. Although I wasn't too thrilled with Yellow Submarine when it first came out (this song was also overplayed on radio), I came to identify it positively with the same-titled movie, an animated farce that is one of my favorites.

#8: I Wanna Be Your Man
This was Ringo's track on their first U.S. album Meet the Beatles. A fast-paced "screamer", I Wanna Be Your Man was also recorded and released as a single by competitors The Rolling Stones around the same time.

#7: Matchbox
When the Beatles made their comedy farce A Hard Days Night, they released, within the United States, two albums that had overlapping tracks. My parents opted for buying the United Artists movie soundtrack album instead of Capitol Records' Something New. I wish they had picked Something New, which had a better selection of tracks, including Matchbox, a pleasant Ringo-rocker.

#6: Octopus's Garden
I suppose that if the Beatles had managed to stay together, then this would have been a good theme song for another Yellow Submarine-type movie. After all, with Octopus's Garden, we're once again frolicking around on the bottom of the sea! I generally didn't like the tracks on side one of Abbey Road, but Octopus's Garden stood out as the best by far (to me). Side two of Abbey Road, on the other hand, was a complete masterpiece!

#5: Don't Pass Me By
Ringo Starr was a true fan of American country music, and he showed his affection for this genre while with the Beatles by singing country songs on their albums (Honey Don't, Act Naturally, and What Goes On). Don't Pass Me By has a definite country flair to it as well. Personally, I associate it with some of my running training back in high school when, for some reason, I would keep playing this song over and over again in my mind while running! I guess the song's tempo went well with my pacing.

#4: Photograph
Ringo seemed to enjoy a very successful solo career. One of the reasons is that, of all the Beatles, he was the one who wasn't under scrutiny to produced artistically-relevant material. Also, after the initial offenses associated with the Beatles breakup in 1970-71, he cultivated friendship with his old bandmates. One of the fruits of this is his big 1973 hit Photograph, a record that could easily have been named as a Beatles song since all four Beatles contributed to it. This is the only single I've heard from Ringo's solo career where he is singing with a lot of heartfelt emotion. The other songs were either covers or novelty songs. I wish he had made a few more like Photograph.

#3: Boys
In 1964, the local (in Miami) Beatles radio stations 560-WQAM and 790-WFUN played a slew of earlier-recorded Beatles songs that had yet not been released on albums in the U.S.. Boys was one of these, and I took to it (being a seven-year boy myself). I liked the whole song and memorized it to the point where my father actually recorded me then singing it on tape (I wonder whether that still exists).

#2: I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends
Putting a Ringo song as the showcase track introducing their most celebrated album (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) was a stroke of genius on the part of Beatles producer George Martin. The song, basically a conversation between Ringo and the rest of the band, not only is the perfect response to the Sgt. Pepper build-up on track one: it represents Ringo Starr's professional life and success. He HAS gotten by with a little help from his friends.

#1: Goodnight
At the tail end of the 1968 Beatles double album generally referred to as the The White Album, Goodnight is the perfect cap to an album side dominated by the eery, disjointed John/Yoko collaboration Revolution 9. Goodnight, in my opinion, may be the greatest lullaby ever recorded, and definitely should displace Rock-a-Bye Baby for its sweet, soothing lyrics and melody. And Ringo, once again showing himself at his best singing from the heart, makes Goodnight a much better song than it already is.

Factors in Choosing the President

The new President that we, as a collective people in America, will be choosing this November, is going to have to make many crucial decisions regarding our lives and the place of our country within the world. Many problems will crop up that demand an appropriate mixture of judgment, action, restraint, and balance. Where the President stands philosophically will determine his or her actions to a large extent. And there are two broad areas in which I see the potential Presidents differing.

One area is where to achieve a balance between the public good and private interests. Issues such as undocumented immigration, energy conservation and independence, and problems with our health care and insurance system are examples that a future President will need to come down on one side of the public/private dichotomy or the other. The other area is how a President should react to events in the world that either directly bear on American security and economic interests, or indirectly affect us through disasters, wars, or human rights issues arising elsewhere. What is the appropriate balance between projecting a forceful, imposing image of U.S. military might and projecting the image of America as the world's hope for benevolent, peaceful change through diplomacy and trade? If a foreign government behaves in a provocative manner against the United States, how will the new President react?

Part of what will determine the new President's decisions will be based on the aforementioned philosophical points. And it's not just a conservative vs. liberal question. On illegal immigration and foreign policy, conservatives favor a big government approach, while liberals favor more state intervention in issues like health care, energy, and the environment. But, of course, the candidates' philosophical take on the issues is not the only factor in affecting the next President's decisions. It will also be the quality and demeanor of that individual's personality, as well as that of his or her advisers. And the ability to clearly convey his or her vision of where the nation needs to go to the American people is also crucial.

So there you have it: the skeleton of how one should evaluate prospective Presidents. Not by whose aide said what about a rival candidate. Not by how much money a candidate raised. Not by whether the candidate has been winning "red","blue", large, or small states in the primaries and caucuses. Not by the gender, age, perceived race, religion, or political pedigree of the candidate. Not by what the candidate's spouse said. Not by the candidate's middle or married name. And not by whether one candidate seems to be more likely to win. The office of President is too powerful and the stakes are too high to vote for irrelevant reasons. But vote we shall, for better or for worse!

Favorite Songs of 1983

The rise of music videos dominated my take on popular music from back in 1983, with most of my listening taking place in front of a TV set. The biggest act of that year, Michael Jackson (from his Thriller album), came out with songs I liked in Billy Jean, Beat It, and PYT (Pretty Young Thing). Also, the final album of the Police, Synchronicity, produced tracks like King of Pain (not on video) and Synchronicity II (one of my favorite Police songs). Robert Plant showed a slower, mellower side as a solo artist with Big Log and In the Mood. Awful accompanying video notwithstanding, Pat Benatar's Love is a Battlefield was her best, in my opinion. And speaking of what love is, my all-time favorite of the Eurythmics, Love is a Stranger, had a great video to go with it. The Moody Blues slipped into the mix almost unnoticed an upbeat release titled Sitting at the Wheel. Neil Young paid homage to rock n' roll's doo-wop era with his funny Wonderin'. Wall of Voodoo's Mexican Radio was enhanced by the screaming-funny video. Speaking of funny, Men at Work's Be Good Johnny may have been the funniest, while their more sober It's a Mistake had a catchy beat to it. Eddie Grant and Donna Summer imparted a Caribbean flavor to the pop music scene with Electric Avenue and Unconditional Love, respectively. The Human League's inspiring Keep Feeling Fascination (the only song of theirs I liked) was a 1983 product. Dance-wise, the Kinks had Come Dancing while Men Without Hats had The Safety Dance. Kid Creole and the Coconuts had their Male Curiosity, a (very) minor hit. Our House, by Madness, completed the comic impression that this year was making in music. Perhaps the most sarcastic song in the history of music came out in 1983: Jackson Browne's masterpiece Lawyers in Love. Styx produced a veiled protest against Japan's takeover of the technology of automation with their cryptic Mr. Roboto. Electric Light Orchestra fell flat (but not with me) with their Secret Messages. The video was a cute takeoff on old pulp sci-fi/fantasy serials. Paul McCartney's So Bad was an uncommonly good song (and video, with Ringo Starr drumming). I saw the video for Invisible Sun by the Police during 1983 and fell in love with the song. The same was true for Donald Fagen's New Frontier. Pete Townshend had two earlier, very good songs of his publicized in '83 via videos: Rough Boy and Face Dances Pt.2. Elton John made one of his many comebacks with his defiant I'm Still Standing. Patrick Simmons, from the Doobie Brothers, had a minor hit that I liked: So Wrong. INXS's The One Thing was my #3 favorite song from 1983, coming out early in the year. The Fixx, with a generally pacifist/philosophical theme to their music, had several songs exposed through videos. My #2 favorite song for '83 was their Saved By Zero. I also liked their One Thing Leads to Another. And my top favorite tune from 1983 is from the Scottish band Big Country for their loud, shouting, positive song (with a guitar-made bagpipe sound) In a Big Country.

Piano on the Eights: 3/12

These past eight weeks in my piano-learning odyssey were highlighted by a recital on February 10 that I played at. I was one of twenty-five students, about a quarter of us adults and all of us students of the same teacher. I played an excerpt titled Melody in F by Rubinstein. I prepared a lot for it in the days preceding the recital, and when it was time for me to go up and play in front of the audience, it seemed as if someone else was playing the piece, with me in the background! So, the recital went off pretty well for me. My son, who is a much better pianist than me, also played at the recital.

I continued practicing as usual, and am still feeling as if I am not putting in the needed time and effort to reach my full potential. I practiced on excerpts from Borodin's Polovetzian Dances, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, and Joplin's The Entertainer, among others. I have begun to focus more on the "back" part of the keyboard where the black keys are. I believe that treating this section as the "starting point" for my keying, instead of as an area that I go to only when specially demanded by the printed music, will greatly facilitate my learning of the musical theory and my skill at playing.

Horizontal Ladder Monkey Bars

As you may already know (if you have been reading this this blog regularly), I am a big SpongeBob SquarePants fan. Well, on their Lost Episode, Patchy the Pirate (not animated) left his suburban Encino, California home with his treasure map to find the tape of the lost episode (that he had lost). The map directed Patchy to a playground where, for some absurd reason, he felt compelled to undergo all of the kiddie rides there before he started digging. Among the rides was one of those types of horizontal ladder monkey bars that I used to play on as a kid. Being an adult, Patchy naturally looked totally silly walking, instead of swinging, under the bars, still painstakingly clutching on to each rung as he crossed it.

At my old elementary school, we had a couple of these types of monkey bars, and it was something of a competition among some of us to see who could swing across the bars to the other side while skipping as many rungs as possible. Just about anybody, with some practice, could skip a rung while passing across, but only a few of us (me included) could make it skipping two. But on a couple of occasions, I observed classmates making the "trip" skipping three rungs!. But I never got that far.

Nowadays, like Patchy, whenever I come across one of those horizontal ladder monkey bars (which is becoming increasingly rarer), I usually find them way too low for me to swing from. But once, a few years ago, my family and I were approaching Atlanta from the north. A few miles north of that great city, we stopped off at a state park with a well-equipped playground. With horizontal ladder monkey bars. And they were very high up off the ground! But I found, as I tried to cross one, that my arms and shoulders had become so much weaker over the years that I could barely just stay put hanging from a rung, much less cross the "ladder"! But I realized then that it would be a fun thing to get myself into better shape by practicing crossing them after I returned to Gainesville. Only I never did find any that were high enough off the ground for me to swing from. And besides, the trend in playgrounds nowadays seems to be equipment made from plastic or wood. Apparently some do-gooder somewhere decided that the metal equipment posed a greater danger to children. But having seen Patchy cross the bars on that SpongeBob episode for what seemed like the umpteen-millionth time, it suddenly occurred to me that it would be fun to check out if there are still any of those around town. And if there are, this may be the start of a new training program to complement my running (I don't care for weight-training: but that's another story). Who knows: I may just get to be a three-rung skipper after all!

Monday Newsbreak: 3/10

--After being stripped of delegate representation at the national convention because they went against party rules to schedule their presidential primaries early, Florida and Michigan are becoming the focus of intense debate within the Democratic Party. Should they repeat their primaries to give the people in these very important, populous swing states a legitimate voice as to who they want their nominee to be? Of course, I say the answer is YES! This in spite of the fact that holding the Florida and Michigan primaries again would probably help Hillary Clinton to catch up in terms of delegate totals with Barack Obama, whom I support. But we're otherwise talking about 366 disenfranchised delegates in two states that may well determine the outcome of the 2008 presidential election! Unfortunately, there seems to be a standoff between the governors of Florida and Michigan, who do not want their states (and taxpayers) to have to pay the costs of holding the additional primaries, and the Democratic Party leadership under Howard Dean, who wants the states, not the party, to handle (and pay for) any re-voting.

-- The buzz around Florida these days is that popular governor Charlie Christ is "campaigning" to become John McCain's running mate for the general election. And why not? I like him, and he, like McCain, is conservative but pragmatic. Governor Crist is not beholden to the right-wing ideological "correctness" people who, I believe, are dragging their party down toward defeat this November.

--The weather here and across the eastern part of the U.S. has been atrocious this past week, with winter stubbornly refusing to go away. Here in northern Florida on Friday we had tornadoes (causing two deaths in Lake City 40 miles north of me) with heavy rain, thunderstorms, and high winds. On Saturday, the storms had passed over, but the winds just picked up even more. Sunday morning saw subfreezing temperatures across the Gainesville area, something I don't remember experiencing this late in the season since I moved up here thirty years ago. I just hope that the rain that deluged us will help to prevent the outbreak of fires this spring.

--The University of Florida men's basketball team is now down to their last hope for reach the NCAA Championship Tournament this year to defend their National Title, with their close-but-insufficient 75-70 loss to Kentucky at Lexington Saturday. And that hope is simply to confound the experts and win the upcoming Southeastern Conference tournament outright! But I don't see that happening, as much as I want it to be. So, unless a miracle occurs and Florida does prevail, I'll be pulling for the Tennessee Volunteers in the tournament. Tennessee last year had a team good enough to win it all, but were defeated in an extremely close game against Ohio State.

Always Knowing What to Do

I’ve come to believe that the key to effective living is to progressively instill in myself positive habits that eventually fill up every waking moment in the day. Trying to “stop” doing this or that has never been effective for me. But replacing a bad habit with a good habit does work well. The most important thing of all is to able, at any given moment, to discern the proper course of action for me to take.

But knowing what to do at all times requires a great amount of soul-searching, because inevitably conflicts will arise between different courses of action, both of which may seem to be for the good. I need to lay out my priorities in life and create and react to situations according to how they bear on them. And if something happening doesn’t relate to my values, then perhaps I should just let it go. In this category I place all of the past grievances and grudges that I’ve allowed to build up inside of me for so many years about people and situations that no longer have any relevance to my life, either now or in the future. This, in essence, is the Biblical idea of “holding captive every thought”, since actions originate from thoughts. If my thoughts are in line with my values and goals, then they pass my test and can stir me to action. But if my thoughts are full of anger, fear, impatience, compulsion, or greed, then they must be let go. Nothing of value can arise from this negative energy. So, in order get good at knowing what to do at any given moment, the first habit I need to instill is to thoroughly examine the value of what I allow myself to think about! And this self-examination has to be continuous, because it only takes a moment for me to slip up and royally screw things up with destructive thoughts (which much too often can end up with destructive words)!

When I am at work and am working in my “home base” of operations, I instinctively know exactly what I need to do at any given moment in order to be the most effective worker possible there. But if I am moved to an unfamiliar section, I will make work decisions that may not be the most efficient use of my labors. And of course, the difference is that I am habituated to the patterns and needs of my own section. Expand this notion to one’s whole life and you may see what I’m driving at with this article. By “holding every thought captive” and gradually filling my day up with effective habitual behavior, I will succeed in always knowing what to do.

Weight Loss and Maintenance on the Eights: 3/8

Although I didn't keep up well with my weigh-ins in late January/early February, the last eight weeks saw me finally getting serious about my weight. All I did was exercise more (I began to run daily) and be more careful about excessive eating (although I did hit the doughnuts from time to time). But I made a good amount of progress! It shouldn't be too much longer before I reach my own personal goal of getting down to the 150's (lbs). Here's my weigh-in record for the past eight-week period:

DATE WEIGHT (lbs)
1/12........182.0
1/19........180.0
2/09.......174.6
2/23........171.8
3/01........167.2
3/08........165.6