Voted Today, We'll See How It All Turns Out

After getting off from work this morning at 7:30, I drove over to my local precinct and voted on this Election Day.  The voting room (unlike with recent low-turnout elections) had other voters besides myself, but there still weren't that many.  Maybe now, with the polls open until 7 PM, there are more people casting their ballots.  Anyway, I made my voting choices exactly the way I said I would a few days ago on this blog.  I'm sure that some of my candidates and issues will win and some will lose, but regardless how the results tally up, I feel satisfied that I performed my civic duty and participated in this representative democracy of ours.  After I got home, I was getting pretty sleepy, it being at the end of my "day" as it was, but I thought I might write a short blog article urging people to vote and post it on Facebook.  But when I got on Facebook, I could easily see that there were already several postings from others exhorting people to vote.  So I waited until now...but at this posting there's still time for you to vote if you're registered!

There is a lot of talk on TV about the close US Senate races (in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Kansas, and Georgia) being decided today, and how the Republicans might well be on their way to the first Senate majority they have had in eight years.  It should be interesting watching the cable news channels tonight as the results start coming in.  Unfortunately, regardless whether the Democrats or Republicans end up controlling the Senate, we'll probably still be stuck with their old leaders: Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell both need to step down and allow more persuasive and less antagonistic leaders to step up.  But I seriously doubt that they will, seeing how much each one craves power...

Reviewing Lev Grossman's Magician Series Before Starting Third Book

Many of the different series of books that I have read over recent years were already completely written by the time I began with them, making the process of covering them all relatively quick, with little time between books for me to forget characters or various aspects of the story line...Stephen Kind's Dark Tower series is an example for me.  Then again, there are other series for which the author is still writing new books every few years or so...George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is a case in point.  For these series, I have experienced the need to review the previous books before I begin on the next, newly published installment.  This also applies to the new (and presumably final) book in Lev Grossman's Magician series, the third book of which , titled The Magician's Land, has just come out and which I just got from Amazon on my Kindle.

I have just finished rereading the first book, titled The Magicians, and will start on book #2, The Magician King, tonight.  This is a great fantasy series with characters of depth and refreshingly rooted in our "real" world instead of the typical make-believe continents with the obscure, hard-to-read maps and "epic", convoluted history.  Not that Grossman hasn't inserted his own imaginary land into the story in Fillory (which he clearly and deliberately has fashioned after C.S. Lewis' Narnia), but the characters are based in our own world and time frame.

I'm glad I'm going through this review of the first two books in the series. Had I not, I know I would have been missing out on many details that will probably be referred back to in the new book...

Looking Ahead at Upcoming Half-Marathon Races

I'm looking ahead at the half-marathon calendar before me, specifically for the races available for the next few months here in northern Florida.  I see a few ahead that I might be interested in entering:

November 16 (Sunday): St. Augustine Half-Marathon
November 30 (Sunday): Space Coast Half-Marathon...in Cocoa
December 20 (Saturday evening): Starlight Half-Marathon...in Palm Coast

...and on New Years Day 2015, the annual John Walker Memorial Half-Marathon will take place here in Gainesville, on the Hawthorne Trail.

I think I did something like this preview on my blog last year, too, but didn't feel I was in good enough shape to run in a half-marathon at the time.  Now I feel differently, but I still have this sense of inertia about stepping forward, registering, and then getting out there and running them.  But I do have a good feeling about the November 16 and January 1 races...I'd love to run through St. Augustine!

Next January and February will feature the Ocala and FivePoints (Gainesville) Half-Marathons, respectively.  I'd like to run in both of these races.  Should I finish the winter half-marathon season down here in Florida will four more races to my "collection", that would be, at least for me, quite a feat.  So let's see how I do in the next few weeks...

Can't Figure Out This Game Called Football

Being an avid Southeastern Conference fan in college football, I was amazed three weeks ago how severely Georgia manhandled divisional rival Missouri 34-0.  After all, the Bulldogs were operating without the services of their star runner Todd Gurley, who has been (and still is) under suspension for alleged violations of NCAA rules concerning autographs.  If anything, the game was considered to be an evenly matched tossup, but the Tigers instead were humiliated.  So Missouri's next opponent, the Florida Gators, must have been thinking that they weren't all that tough after all...besides, this was a homecoming game for Florida, in that difficult stadium for visitors known as "The Swamp".  Instead, Missouri proceeded in turn to thoroughly humiliate the Gators, 42-13...a 29-point margin.  Ouch.  But who was Florida's next opponent?  Oh-no, it's Georgia, the team that, by 34 points, beat the team that beat Florida by 29...that sounds like they're 63 points ahead of the Gators.  This was going to be a blowout, right?

Well, that game finished early this evening, and it wasn't Georgia prevailing by nine touchdowns.  Or even one.  The final score? Florida 38, Georgia 20.

Go figure, if you can...

My October 2014 Running Report

In October, 2014, I ran a total of 310 miles, the most I have ever accomplished in a month.  I did it not by amassing great, long single runs, but rather by running several times during the course of the day...with my longest single run for the entire month coming in at just 6.3 miles.  But my longest "calendar day" running mileage was 26.7 miles, done over the span of October 4.  I ran on every day of the month.

By running more often instead of going on very long runs, I am endeavoring to achieve a balance between training for longer distance races while taking care of my body to avoid injury.  So far it's working, although I have yet to run in a race since my Five Points of Life Half-Marathon back in February, here in Gainesville.  I had been considering the recently held half-marathon in Apalachicola, Florida, but because they insisted on race packet pickup the day before...no exceptions...I passed up on it.  I could have made the drive over to the race and back, but I wasn't going to stay overnight at a hotel there, just because of their asinine policy...which was probably designed to make entrants stay overnight at one of their hotels!  In November, I'll have several opportunities to run in different races and will try to get in at least a couple...

Just Finished Reading Daniel Abraham's The Dragon's Path

Daniel Abraham is a prolific author of science fiction and fantasy stories who often collaborates with others...and likes to use pseudonyms.  Although his ongoing fantasy series The Dagger and the Coin is a solo project published under his own name, Abraham has nonetheless  been receiving much encouragement with it from his friend, George R.R. Martin, of A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) fame.  And as I have earlier written in another article, Abraham's series bears a remarkable resemblance to Martin's.  For one, the characters all have within their personalities...even those being presented as "heroic" protagonists...a rather objectionable brutality.  Also, there is a conflict going on in the central kingdom (with a weak king and serious questions about succession) between the protagonists, who want to suppress the common people and maintain strict authoritarian rule under the nobility, and the antagonists, who have allied themselves with the farmers and other commoners to push for more reforms.  So as a reader I feel that the author is persuading me to take the "good guy" Dawson's side and oppose "bad guy" Issandrian...but I prefer the latter.  Another "hero", Geder, is also extremely brutal and selfish...but he likes to read books, so I guess I'm supposed to like him, too!

In The Dragon's Path, the character Dawson reminds me of Martin's Ned Stark, Geder reminds me a bit of his Tyrion, and there is a subplot across the continent that features the characters Cithrin and Marcus.  Cithrin is like a cross between Martin's Daenerys and Arya, and Marcus resembles Jorah Mormont in that both men are feeling a growing love toward a young woman they are protecting who has a sense of destiny (with Marcus it's Cithrin and with Lord Mormont it's Daenerys).  There is also an extensive historical past with dragons ruling in both series, as well as an aggressive, strange religion that carries sinister foreboding as it spreads.  In a departure from Martin, though, Abraham's human population is divided into several extremely distinct "races", some with scales, some with heavy fur, some with tusks, etc,. and an ongoing mystery as to why it is so divided...

The series name The Dagger and the Coin refers to the great dynamic conquering forces in this fantasy world (and our own, for that matter): war and finance...and seems to be engaged in the question of which of the two truly reigns supreme.  In spite of the relative lack of innovation in The Dragon's Path, I like Daniel Abraham's writing and appreciate how he presents his characters, who already are memorable to me.  I want to know what happens next after this book, and the author has obliged with three more installments in the series, with more to come...

Early Outbreak Convinces Me to Get Flu Shot

Yesterday I decided I had put it off long enough already and got my annual flu shot.  I usually don't get it until a little later in the year, but this year so far quite a few people have already come down with the flu...and my doctor has already told me that, due to a continuing medical condition, I need to get a shot each year.  That's no guarantee that I won't come down with it, though: the last time I caught the flu, a little more than ten years ago, I had gotten a flu shot but to no avail.  Still, the game here is to increase my odds...which also includes being careful to wash my hands often, especially before eating...and otherwise keeping my hands from my face.

You can choose to get all worried and excited about the Ebola virus and the latest news scoops about it. But while that's going on, the flu is quietly spreading through the population, debilitating many and even killing a few in the process.  It is much more of an immediate health threat than Ebola...and it's also something you can take effective action to help prevent for yourself and loved ones...

Just Finished Reading Tolstoy's Anna Karenina

I've just finished reading Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, published in 1878 and considered in literary circles to be among the very best novels ever written.  Its setting is primarily in Russia of that time period, specifically in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and the countryside around them.  The main characters are of the noble class, still separated to a great degree from the peasantry and working class and with their own society and customs.  Naturally, the chief protagonist is the title character, a young woman named Anna Karenina, who is suffering through a marriage to a man much older than her, and for whom she feels no love.  Onto the scene strides young Count Vronsky, a free spirit with the habit of seeing women as potential conquests, and the two fall head over heels in love with each other...of course, placing her in a precarious situation with her marital infidelity.  But instead of continuing their affair confidentially, Anna decides to openly reveal everything to Karenin, her husband...which turns out to be a critical mistake.  For, it seems, extramarital affairs are quite commonplace among the Russian nobility...but the participants follow certain rules of discretion that serve to protect themselves with their marriages and social standing.  Because of Anna's outspokenness, though, she instead suffers public disgrace from her affair.  Vronsky wants to marry her, and eventually she also desires a divorce from her husband with the same aim...but by that time Karenin has changed his mind about granting her one.  What happens next? I leave that to you, good reader, to discover for yourself...

Although Anna Karenina is the "official" main character in this story, I feel rather that a rural land-owning nobleman named Constantin Levin truly fits that role.  I also believe that the author spoke his own philosophical beliefs and questions through this character.  I had earlier written on this blog that I could find no character in Anna Karenina with whom I could empathize.  Well, I did come to appreciate Levin, a character strongly reminiscent in his awkwardness regarding Russian noble society to Pierre, Tolstoy's protagonist in his earlier work War and Peace. Levin has his own love interest in young Kitty, who happens to be Anna's brother's niece (ultimately, it seems, everyone in nobility is related). One of the more humorous parts of the novel is when Levin, invited to participate in the government's nobility-run legislative assembly, finds himself completely baffled by the political process, stumbling through different proceedings without knowing what he is doing.

In Anna Karenina, Tolstoy explores in depth the feelings of his characters and their inner motivations for what they say and do.  So this is a psychological novel of the first order.  But also covered is the Russian society contemporary to Tolstoy's writing...not only the inner social dynamics of the nobility, but also the sometimes changing, sometimes stagnant relationship between that nobility and the "lower" classes, complete with the misunderstandings and mistrust separating them.  And on still another, and very significant level, religion and God's role in people's lives are discussed through various characters...mainly from Levin himself at the story's end.

I don't know whether Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina is the best novel ever written, but I did enjoy it and recommend it.  But as for my own preferences, I liked his War and Peace more...

The 2014 General Election As I See It

The 2014 general election is in full swing here in Alachua County, Florida, with early voting now available.  For me, I cast an early ballot in an election a few years ago but greatly prefer the election day ritual at my local precinct (which this year is on November 4).  Besides, it gives me a chance to check up on what's going on at my precinct site, which just so happens to be the community senior recreational center (which I'll be eligible to use in less than two years).  This year it's no high-glamour presidential election...just the governorship of Florida at stake, along with some state cabinet positions, a U.S. house race, a couple of county commission races, a county tax collector race, five district judge retention questions, three state constitutional amendments, an Alachua County referendum...and an Alachua County nonbinding straw ballot question.  For me, that's plenty to vote on, but I predict that less than half of the eligible voters will cast their ballots this election...while a portion of the non-voters will complain that the Republican Party is trying to suppress the vote with their reasonable (to me) demand for adequate identification at the polling place.

However, my political alignment tends to fall on the Democratic side, so if you are one of those politically hysterical types who automatically equate the Democratic Party with evil and tyranny, you're welcome to stop reading now...and placidly continue on with your own conception of reality.  But at this point I don't see any compelling reason to side with the Republicans in any of the races...especially in the contest for governor between incumbent Rick Scott and his immediate predecessor, Charlie Crist.  After mudslinging at Crist in ad after ad for being a corrupt and flip-flopping politician while blaming him for the international recession that happened after the banking crisis of late 2008, Scott then had the nerve to put on an ad implying that he was above such mudslinging and that only Crist was showing attack ads.  What hypocrisy.  But none of this is why I'm planning to vote for Crist...I just feel he is a decent man (albeit, granted, a somewhat slick politician) who accepts that he would be the governor of ALL the people in Florida, not just those with his own narrow ideological perspective (which I feel is the case with Scott).  That's not an endorsement from me, though, and others are encouraged to follow their own convictions (or hunches, if they aren't sure) about how they will vote.

In one of the county commission races, I was going to go for the Republican there, since on the surface he sounded as if he would make road repair a top priority.  But actually, John Martin would rather hold back on needed repairs because he opposes a proposed sales surtax specifically earmarked for those projects (also on the ballot) and instead insist on doing everything within the budget as it is.  While an admirable stand at first glance, it is an unrealistic one that is destined to further delay needed road work.

Regarding the state constitutional amendments...No.1 is for water and land conservation.  On the surface it seems like a good idea, and I'm going for it.  No.2 is to legalize medical marijuana use and production.  I think this amendment is rather phony in that those supporting it the most are viewing it as a transition to the general legalization of pot (a transitional path that Colorado followed).  And since I have my own suspicions about certain potential producers of the plant wanting to get an inside track on the industry when that general legalization does occur, I'm opposing this amendment on principle.  Amendment No.3 gives the governor power to appoint vacancies to the judiciary.  But unlike the advise and consent requirement for presidential appointments on the federal level of government, I see in this amendment no checks provided on whomever the governor may choose to appoint...so I'm voting "no" on this question, too.

As for the remaining two questions on the ballot, I'm going to "hold my nose" and vote for the proposed Alachua County surtax, because our roads are truly in a deplorable state here.  And the straw ballot question is just political posturing about whether one would support a U.S. Constitutional Amendment only recognizing individual human beings as "persons" and not group entities such as corporations or labor unions...and that spending money is not an expression of free speech protected under the First Amendment.  Implied in this argument is the notion that people are too stupid to filter through the myriad campaign ads that inundate them during the campaign season, many financed by corporate interests.  My answer is that if they are that stupid, then they deserve the stupid government they end up electing: let us carefully avoid restricting our own precious freedom of association and the expressions that arise from them...  

Need Close Games in This Year's World Series

Major League Baseball's World Series continues tonight with a change of location to San Francisco, with it knotted up 1-1 between the Giants and the Kansas City Royals. I wonder, though... if the games continue to develop like the first two...whether anyone outside the two metropolitan areas involved will be interested.  For 7-1 and 7-2 scores are not exactly the kinds of games that tend to rivet one's attention up to the very final out.  And here's the paradox: the various playoff series that have led to this 2014 edition of the World Series have pretty much been blowouts...if you just look at the tally of games won and lost.  But almost every game comprising those "blowouts" has been very close and decided by one or two runs, with many having to go into extra innings to decide.  So, say instead of the 7-1 and 7-2 scores for the first two World Series games we had 4-3 and 5-4 scores.  Even if the same team had won both games...even if that team had gone on to sweep the Series four games to none...it would have been much more entertaining viewing than what we've had so far.

I'm rooting for San Francisco in this Series, but it would disappoint me if they won the next three games with lopsided scores.  I like those tight, tense games that bring in all the teams' extras and relief pitchers into the equation and can dramatically turn on just one pitch.  Of course, if a team I care for more, like the Tampa Bay Rays or Miami Marlins, had been in it this year, I would have been very happy with them routing their opponent each and every game, damn the boredom...

Personal Running Records As I Age

When I resumed running in earnest in 2007 after a thirty-year layoff from the activity, I was fifty years old.  In the seven years between then and now there have been two opposing processes at work regarding "personal records", as they pertained to my best running times for particular distances.  Since my earlier running "records" back in the 1970s were mainly about shorter distances like the quarter mile, mile, and two-mile race, those personal marks still stand and haven't been approached in recent years.  But for the distances I have now embraced, such as 5K, 10K, 15K, half-marathon, and full marathon, I have been working on personal record times for them (especially for the longer distances).  And the first of the aforementioned processes, which is the positive effect of my training and increased fitness and endurance, has given me a good sense of progress with those records.  The main event I'm focused on now, which is the 13.1 mile half-marathon, has my personal record time at 1 hour, 50 minutes, 53 seconds...which I ran in early March, 2013 in a race in Tavares, Florida (a few miles north of Orlando) when I was 56.  Since then, due in large part to plantar fasciitis in my right foot (drastically alleviated through more adequate running shoes) and an adverse employment shift change that has upset my sleeping patterns, my general endurance and running fitness had a setback...but in recent months I have been making a comeback.  My endurance is increasing as well as my speed for the longer distances.  But it is now here, as I just turned 58 and am getting no younger, that the second process is starting to kick in: I am aging and, as this happens, new personal records will be harder and harder to come by until, finally...regardless how fit and trained I am for my age, my best times will be a thing of the past and they will gradually decline.  So while personal records are always a good thing to pursue, I need to be realistic and run for other reasons...

Racist Taunts Cause Soccer Stadium Ban in Moscow

Yesterday I was watching a UEFA Champions League soccer game between Manchester City (of England) and Russia's CSKA Moscow team, with it taking place at the latter's stadium.  The game was exciting, although disappointing (Manchester City, after building an early lead, slipped and ended up with a 2-2 draw).  However, the most remarkable thing I observed wasn't the game itself,  but the desolate, empty stadium surrounding it.  It seems that CSKA Moscow has been placed on a three-game stadium ban because of its fans' racist jeers against opposing teams' players.  And this isn't the only Russian soccer club with a problem in this area: two others have recently undergone censure for racist taunting by their fans at players whose great crime in life apparently is that they don't look like them.  I think this is sad...and a bit hypocritical,  For I remember growing up in the Cold War days when the Soviet Union, which was predominantly Russian, would endlessly propagandize against racism in America and how they, themselves, embraced  and welcomed different people from different races and cultures.  What a lot of bunk.  They're just like everyone else in the world...not better, not worse.  Racism is a problem that permeates all societies...and the ones that act as if they don't have a problem with it are probably the ones with the biggest problem...

Attended First University of Florida Football Game in 37 Years

Back in November, 1977, I was looking forward as an on-campus University of Florida student to a quiet Saturday roaming the campus and mulling over a few thoughts I had been considering.  But the day before this Saturday, which happened to feature the Gators football team homecoming game against Utah State, my mother phoned me telling me that the family of a relative she had known in childhood were inviting me to the game with them.  Not wanting to seem ungrateful (to her) or unsociable (to them), I accepted the offer and sat there suffering through what in retrospect was actually a pretty exciting game.  Florida, which had been heavily favored to run up the score over their opponent, had to come from behind in the second half to win a thrilling homecoming contest.  Those were the days...

As this year's UF homecoming game against the Missouri Tigers (a much more viable opponent) approached, Melissa told me that a friend of hers and her husband, who had tickets to a section of the stadium called Touchdown Terrace, weren't going and would we like to go in their place.  Sure, I said, and after decades I found myself back in the old football stadium...only now we were overlooking the northern end-zone...back in 1977, we'd be floating in air, with only the east and west sides existing back then.  We enjoyed the amenities, including a pleasant buffet dinner, and sat down to watch the game unfold.  I predicted it would be a close contest...was I ever wrong!

Missouri took the opening kickoff and ran it back for a touchdown, giving them a lead they would never relinquish 11 seconds into the game.  Then followed a succession of Florida errors...three interceptions, three fumbles lost, a punt returned by Missouri for a touchdown.  With 5 minutes to go just in the third quarter, the Tigers had built up an insurmountable 42-0 lead.  Florida was able to mount two concluding drives to bring the final score a little closer at 42-13.   It was a pretty humiliating defeat, yet on paper it looked as if (if you disregard the turnovers) Florida easily outplayed Missouri, doubling them up in total yardage and first downs, and with a greater time of possession, third down efficiency...and fewer penalties.

The problem with Florida's performance was that Muschamp attached too much loyalty to Jeff Driskel as the regular starting quarterback and, despite his obvious difficulties in passing accuracy and managing the offense, kept putting him back in there.  I remember a different Gator coach, Steve Spurrier, who was fortunate to have one year, in Terry Dean, the top-ranking passer in the Southeastern Conference.  But because Dean wasn't performing to Spurrier's high standards, he sacked him in mid-season in favor of Danny Wuerffel...who later went to on win the Heisman Trophy and lead his team to the 1996 national championship.  What a difference between Spurrier and the present coach!  After yet another dismal performance by Driskel, I even wonder whether Muschamp will STILL stick with him when they face Georgia in a couple of weeks. Florida's only two scores were both engineered with backup quarterback Treon Harris managing the offense, and he showed confidence and poise.  But regardless who was in there, it was plain to me that Florida's offensive line had a meltdown Saturday night, creating many quarterback sacks, fumbles, and "hurry-ups" (for both Driskel and Harris).  And, dang it, when one of Driskel's passes did hit its target, the receiver was as likely as not to let it slip right through his hands.  Another problem area with the Gators was their slipshod kick and punt return coverage.  But the defense had a pretty good day, considering everything else.  Maybe this game was Muschamp's swan song as head coach, maybe not...but I don't think very many people around here in Gainesville have much confidence in him any more...

In spite of what was happening on the field, though, Melissa and I enjoyed our experience at the stadium...although I wish I had brought a pair of earplugs to mitigate the extreme loudness of the place.  The band, cheerleaders, announcers... you name it, were all great, and they stuck in there with the same spirit even long after the game was a lost cause.  And the fans were pretty revved up as well, almost all standing up in the bleacher sections for almost the entire game and participating in the noisemaking and the "Gator chomp".  Yes, we had a great time.  Hope they resolve this coaching and quarterback mess somehow, but I'm not losing any sleep over it...

San Francisco Will Play Kansas City in 2014 World Series

The 2014 Major League Baseball World Series has been set, and the pairing is unexpected: Kansas City vs. San Francisco, both wild card teams.  However, this isn't the first such matchup: in 2002, Anaheim and San Francisco, both also wild card entries that year,  played their exciting seven-game World Series, with the Angels winning it.  But this year is the first that both wild card teams had to get by that tense (and silly) one-game playoff just to get to the regular divisional playoff series.  And that's quite a feat for even one team!

I have to admit to a little disappointment that Baltimore couldn't at least get a couple of wins in their 4-0 sweep by the Royals for the American League pennant, but am very happy with the National League outcome: I've come to enjoy following the Giants, and beating the pesky St. Louis Cardinals in the process (four games to one) for the pennant was just icing on the cake!  In spite of the lopsided series win-loss totals, though, the games themselves have each been close, exciting contests that have often gone to extra innings to decide.  These types of games really display the value of the team as a whole, with its substitutes and relief pitcher lineup playing significant roles in the late innings (as well as managerial decisions regarding them)...if they hadn't come through as they did for KC and SF, they wouldn't have gotten this far.

So now it's the World Series, and I have my clear favorite: San Francisco.  If the Royals want to win two or three games in the process, I won't begrudge them that concession, though. The first game is slated for this coming Tuesday evening, to be played in Kansas City...

Opposition Criticism of Presidents Following Pattern

It's become pretty apparent to me, for the past few decades with several U.S. presidents from both major political parties taking their turns living in the White House, that those in opposition, regardless whose party they identify themselves with, follow a similar pattern in expressing that opposition.  So the guy you didn't want got elected, did he? Well, for one, he stole the election because of whatever reason (Florida fiasco in 2000, voter "suppression" laws, the president-elect supposedly wasn't born in the U.S., voter fraud, dirty campaigning...you name it).  Also, he is incompetent and foolish/stupid, while at the same time is a devious, sinister mastermind of such villainy that he has become a dictator.  And this administration, which you didn't vote for, is setting all kinds of records for being the most corrupt in history!  Impeach, impeach, impeach!!! Oh, and whoever is in there, in spite of all the scapegoating on him for every single misfortune that arises anywhere during his term in office, is really only a powerless puppet being manipulated behind the scenes by a shadow power.  And the people who voted him into power are obviously stupid and foolish, allowing him and his party to get their votes by manipulating their emotions on hot-button issues (gay rights, flag-burning, wealth inequality, and so on).  They're only stupid and foolish, though, if they didn't vote for YOUR guy, who obviously has the best interests of everyone at heart...right?

Currently Reading Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Abraham's The Dragon's Path

I am currently in the process of reading two different books: Leo Tolstoy's late nineteenth century classic Anna Karenina and, much more recently written, Daniel Abraham's initial book in his ongoing fantasy Coin and Dagger series, titled The Dragon's Path.  I am a third of the way done with each book...both are very well written but I'm experiencing different reactions so far to each of them.  In Anna Karenina, I find myself in the unenviable position of being committed to reading a long novel that, at least for myself, contains no characters for whom I feel any sense of empathy.  They're all obnoxious, self-absorbed scoundrels, from what I've read so far! But I'm ready to give Tolstoy the benefit of the doubt and see what he has in store for the rest of the book.  Empathy is no problem at all, though, with Abraham's The Dragon's Path.  My problem here is that the author apparently has set out to recreate the dynamics of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, with the names and locales changed.  There's a Tyrion-like character in it, as well as one resembling Ned Stark...along with another reminding me of his daughter Arya.  And there's a counterpart here to the troublesome Lannister family as well.  But it's fun reading and I'm prepared to see how the author will make his series distinct in character from Martin's...

Soccer: League Teams Play Better Than National Teams

Every few weeks during the international soccer season, the various leagues which are scattered across the continents interrupt their schedules and the top players from each country regroup into their national teams to play in tournaments.  For me, I don't care too much for these "superteams": one, they inspire a spirit of often jingoistic nationalism among fans...two, there is more to a team than just throwing together some star players occasionally.  In soccer, as in other team sports, the players on a team need to get to know each other well, especially when it comes to passing the ball and positioning themselves in order to be in the optimal offensive and defensive locations, depending how the game is going at any particular moment.  For eleven players on the field to be able to work well like this together requires a great deal of practice and game experience, something that simply is unavailable to national teams.  Maybe the only exception to this is every four years during the World Cup, which takes place prior to most of the leagues' regular seasons (although not for the U.S.) and affords more of a continuity to better prepare the players on national teams to raise their level of play.  But to stage these national team tournaments in the middle of the league regular season?  I don't get it...

I was dismayed the other night while watching one of these games, this one pitting the United States against Ecuador.  I missed the early part, during which the U.S. managed to score a goal against their South American opponent. While watching their performance, which was sluggish and uncoordinated, I marveled how they could have managed even that one goal.  Anyway, Ecuador did come back late in the match to tie it 1-1.  But it was obvious on both sides, and especially for the U.S. team, that these players were not comfortable playing with each other...and why not?  Their strongest ties were with their league teams.  I personally doubt that the American national team would have a shot at beating ANY of the English Premier League teams...even those at the bottom of the standings like Burnley or Queens Park Rangers.  I even think they'd probably have their hands full against an MLS team in the United States like Seattle or D.C. United.  No, I don't care for these national teams...just give me league play or tournaments involving intact league teams...

Just Finished Reading Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

I just finished reading science fiction writer Robert Heinlein's 1966 novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.  Its general theme is the struggle of the moon's inhabitants, in the year 2076, for independence against the Earth that has been exploiting them while imposing authoritarian rule.
Originally a penal colony for the Earth's convicts (reminiscent of Australia's original role in the British Empire), the moon's population by 2076 is overwhelmingly "free", i.e. non-criminals who are mainly the inmate/exiles' offspring and descendants.  Due to the high ratio of men to women here, women are not only highly exalted, but a new form of marriage, the "line" marriage, which is comprised of many husbands and wives in one compact, has taken hold.  The chief protagonist is Manuel "Mannie" O'Kelly, who occupies a special niche in that he apparently is the only one on Luna (which is the proper name for the moon) who can communicate with the supercomputer that controls the telecommunications and life-support systems for the inhabitants.  And he has developed a personal, conversational rapport with "Mike", its mutually agreed upon name.  Mannie is apathetic to the growing resistance movement against the Earth's rule over Luna, but the ensuing plot entangles him with rebel characters (the beautiful Wyoming ("Wyoh") and the anarchist Professor Bernardo).  Together, with Mike as the "commander", they form the initial and topmost cell of an intricate resistance network that is well-nigh impossible for the authorities to break through informants and arrests.  Does the revolt succeed? Well, let's just say that Heinlein has obviously invested a great amount of time and thought determining the factors involved in a successful overthrow, and Mannie's group applies them with zeal.  But the main strategic goal in garnering independence from Earth, which is not to conquer the occupying power but rather to convince it that the political and economic cost of maintaining control isn't worth the effort, has a direct application to what had been going on in 1966, when this novel was published: the U.S. effort to subdue the Communists in Vietnam...which was eventually abandoned because of popular opposition at home, not military defeat abroad.

I was impressed by the attention to detail that Heinlein gave to describing society on Luna, a world inhabited almost completely underground (making it more three-dimensional than on Earth) and which has a thriving, functional economy and system of justice and social mores parallel to, but distinct from, that recognized by the "official" Earth government stationed there.  This is one of those books whose significance has not faded with time...Heinlein's ideas matter today as much as then, even though we never did around to establishing ourselves on the moon. Our current president says we don't need to go back because we've "already been there".  Brilliant.

And on a more speculative note, I wonder how much influence, if any, Heinlein's talking, sentient supercomputer Mike had on Arthur C Clarke's computer Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey, which came out on the big screen the following year...

Football Suspensions, Due Process

This week in Southeastern Conference football has been marked by two suspensions of star players.  One is Florida's backup quarterback, freshman Treon Harris, who heroically brought his team back from behind in the second half against Tennessee and was possibly slated to take over the starting role.  The other is Georgia's phenomenally talented running back Todd Gurley, whose multitude of long runs had propelled himself into this year's Heisman Trophy discussion.  Harris' trouble came after a woman filed a sexual assault complaint against him, it allegedly happening the Sunday morning following the Tennessee game, and Gurley's after it was revealed that the NCAA was investigating him for violating their rules by selling his own autographs.  In both cases, their colleges immediately suspended him from football...Florida went a step further and banned Harris from campus and classes, only allowing him to take on-line courses.  Just a couple of days ago, though, the woman withdrew the complaint... although her lawyer stated that she might refile it on another day...and Harris was "cleared" of the accusation without ever having been officially charged for the alleged crime.  The University then fully reinstated him, although he will miss tonight's Gator game against LSU.  As for Gurley, he is not accused of anything yet, and what he is being investigated for is no crime but rather an infraction of a private organization's rules.  Yet he will suffer an indefinite suspension unless that investigation results in his exoneration.

Sexual assault is a very serious matter, as it should be...and it is also a very big "hot button" social issue, which is certain to inflame many people to anger and a spirit of vengeance when they hear of it.  But just being accused of something does not automatically imply guilt, and I had been under the impression that one of the factors making our society here in America more civilized is the concept of "due process", whereby one so accused is presumed innocent until an orderly and rational process of presenting evidence and witnesses, all subject to scrutiny and cross-examination, can determine guilt or innocence.  With the lack of convincing evidence or the withdrawal of the accusation, the accused should not have to suffer under a cloud of suspicion for the alleged crime and should be treated as an innocent person.  Popular opinion should play no role in his or her treatment.  But I believe the University of Florida, influenced by the public relations angle of the case, decided to presume guilt upon Harris with its knee-jerk suspension and ban.  As for Gurley, he is also being treated unfairly right now, regardless whether investigation ultimately bears out his guilt or not.  No, universities are not a part of the judicial system, and the concept of due process, as it has been strictly interpreted by the law, pertains to that judicial system, not independent organizations.  But due process IS now almost universally considered to be an essential element of fairness in our society and needs to be practiced wherever it can...

October Running Mileage Over 100 After Ten Days

My running mileage has spiked drastically over the past few days...in fact, in the first ten days of October, I've run 102 miles.  This may be the most I've ever run in a ten-day period, and that includes my marathon-training period of late 2010-early 2011.  But then I was going on very long, single runs while now, my runs are broken up throughout the day into smaller units.  I'm not sure, but I think this way it is not taking the same toll on my legs and feet as it did before.  Eventually, though, I do want to do some long runs as I'd like to get back into running half-marathon races.  But first things first: I'll see how well this new strategy works for me, at least during the next few days...