One of Vache Folle's long time co-workers from her last job bought a gun, rented a car, drove to a beach in Long Island, and shot himself in the head. A jogger discovered his body.
Everyone who knew him is completely shocked and asking themselves how this could have happened. He was an amiable man with a family, in good health, employed and making a very good living, and by all accounts happy enough that he would not kill himself. He didn't leave a note.
When I heard the news from Mrs VF, I immediately suspected foul play. After all, he had gone in for a flu shot the day before. Who does that if they're going to kill themselves? The police are certain that it was suicide.
While I take comfort in the notion that death is always there as an escape should things become unbearable (hypothetically), I have never actually contemplated suicide. I have a hard time imagining what would drive me to it (other than a psychotic episode). What secret did Mrs VF's acquaintance harbor that led him to take his life?
Mrs VF is pretty shaken up by this.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Barbara Kellerman
Barbara Kellerman has a piece in WaPo wherein she admonishes the US not to dither with respect to Iran: http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/panelists/2009/09/uprooting-bad-leaders.html?hpid=smartliving
I link to the article not because it is interesting. It is not. Rather, I link to it to show an astonishingly bad piece of writing and advice from a member of the faculty at Harvard. This would have been a B- paper in the classes I taught.
Kellerman compares the president of Iran to Hitler and Iran to Nazi Germany all the while denying that she is making facile historical comparisons to Hitler and Nazi Germany. She then outlines a vague nine step program to engage Iran multilaterally on a wide range of issues while being prepared to use any weapons at our disposal. Step nine is "don't be delusional". I would add a step ten: "disregard Barbara Kellerman."
I link to the article not because it is interesting. It is not. Rather, I link to it to show an astonishingly bad piece of writing and advice from a member of the faculty at Harvard. This would have been a B- paper in the classes I taught.
Kellerman compares the president of Iran to Hitler and Iran to Nazi Germany all the while denying that she is making facile historical comparisons to Hitler and Nazi Germany. She then outlines a vague nine step program to engage Iran multilaterally on a wide range of issues while being prepared to use any weapons at our disposal. Step nine is "don't be delusional". I would add a step ten: "disregard Barbara Kellerman."
Monday, September 28, 2009
Flavored Cigarettes: Good Riddance
I heard that flavored cigarettes (except menthol) are about to be banned on the basis that they are "starter" cigarettes aimed at kids. Back in my day, we didn't have flavored smokes to entice us into smoking. We usually started smoking by trying "rabbit tobacco", an abundant wild plant that provided no satisfaction of any kind. Too bad we didn't know about Jimson Weed back then.
All the men in my family smoked, mostly cigars. My father favored Pall Malls and my stepfather Lucky Strikes. Women did not smoke, although my grandmother dipped snuff. My grandfather rolled his own cigarettes with Prince Albert in a can. He did it one handed and made a perfect cigarette effortlessly. At my grandparents on Sundays, the men would smoke up the parlor, and I would run around with the other kids under the smoke cloud. All we could see were the men's legs and feet.
In high school, the only place on campus you could smoke was the "Smoke Hole", the space under the walkway by the gym, and most of the smokers were from the ranks of the unsavory classes. The ambience of the Smoke Hole did nothing to encourage smoking.
I always assumed I'd smoke some day, and I finally started on Marlboros when I was 21 and old enough to know better. My then girlfriend smoked and turned me to the dark side. I smoked for 20 years, up to two packs a day. I settled on filterless Camels after a few years. I quit ten years ago this month, although I still smoke in my dreams.
I could never abide flavored smokes. No matter how desperate I was for a cigarette, I would not smoke a menthol. I suspect that menthol smokers smoke them just to reduce instances of bumming. Clove cigarettes are unbearable even to be around, and clove cigarette smokers tended to be hippies in my experience. So the inability to buy falovered smokes will not inconvenience me one bit. This is a loss of freedom that I will not notice.
All the men in my family smoked, mostly cigars. My father favored Pall Malls and my stepfather Lucky Strikes. Women did not smoke, although my grandmother dipped snuff. My grandfather rolled his own cigarettes with Prince Albert in a can. He did it one handed and made a perfect cigarette effortlessly. At my grandparents on Sundays, the men would smoke up the parlor, and I would run around with the other kids under the smoke cloud. All we could see were the men's legs and feet.
In high school, the only place on campus you could smoke was the "Smoke Hole", the space under the walkway by the gym, and most of the smokers were from the ranks of the unsavory classes. The ambience of the Smoke Hole did nothing to encourage smoking.
I always assumed I'd smoke some day, and I finally started on Marlboros when I was 21 and old enough to know better. My then girlfriend smoked and turned me to the dark side. I smoked for 20 years, up to two packs a day. I settled on filterless Camels after a few years. I quit ten years ago this month, although I still smoke in my dreams.
I could never abide flavored smokes. No matter how desperate I was for a cigarette, I would not smoke a menthol. I suspect that menthol smokers smoke them just to reduce instances of bumming. Clove cigarettes are unbearable even to be around, and clove cigarette smokers tended to be hippies in my experience. So the inability to buy falovered smokes will not inconvenience me one bit. This is a loss of freedom that I will not notice.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Predictions
Terrorists will attack America if:
(a) the US leaves Afghanistan; or.
(b) the US stays in Afghanistan.
(a) the US leaves Afghanistan; or.
(b) the US stays in Afghanistan.
Census Fears
Slack jawed yahoos fear the census: http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/comments/video_right_wing_census_paranoia_starring_michele_bachmann_glenn_beck_and_g/
All the wingnuts in red districts should absolutely avoid being counted at all costs, while denizens of blue districts should go overboard to cooperate with the census takers. That'll show the liberals.
All the wingnuts in red districts should absolutely avoid being counted at all costs, while denizens of blue districts should go overboard to cooperate with the census takers. That'll show the liberals.
Colonoscopy Day
The colonoscopy results were not as favorable as I had hoped, but I am waiting for the pathology report before I freak out or anything. The procedure went a little long because of polyp removals, so I came out of anesthesia before it was entirely over. I got to see my innards on a flat screen TV. I was still dopey enough that the sensation of the probe was not overwhelming.
I felt good enough the afternoon after the procedure that Mrs Vache Folle and I did a 3.6 mile power walk. The arch supports my podiatrist prescribed made walking almost painless. There are a couple of killer hills on our route, but I reckon this just makes it more interesting. It is a great joy to be able to exercise again after several weeks of debilitating foot problems.
After the procedure, and 30 hours without food, Mrs Vache Folle treated me to fried oysters at Joe Willy's Fish Shack and Ice Cream Parlor. They were pretty good but a little bready for my tastes. It was good to eat again.
I felt good enough the afternoon after the procedure that Mrs Vache Folle and I did a 3.6 mile power walk. The arch supports my podiatrist prescribed made walking almost painless. There are a couple of killer hills on our route, but I reckon this just makes it more interesting. It is a great joy to be able to exercise again after several weeks of debilitating foot problems.
After the procedure, and 30 hours without food, Mrs Vache Folle treated me to fried oysters at Joe Willy's Fish Shack and Ice Cream Parlor. They were pretty good but a little bready for my tastes. It was good to eat again.
Monday, September 21, 2009
This and That
We watched the Prime Time Emmys last night and were pleasantly surprised that it didn't suck. Neil Patrick Harris was a terrific host, and there was a great deal of self referential humor and meta-humor that played on all the aspects of awards shows that make them long and boring. For example, the president of the academy was introduced and then thanked for not speaking. There were no presenters of presenters, and some presenters presented more than one award at a time. There was a clock that showed how far behind schedule the show was. Winners with multiple people were limited to one speaker, and all the winners kept their remarks short and sometimes funny. 30 Rock ruled the evening.
I went to the podiatrist on Thursday and found out my heel problem is plantar fasciitis. I got a shot of cortisone right in my heel and a prescription for arch supports. The podiatrist wrote down the diagnosis so I could "Google it". That way he didn't have tell me that the root cause of the problem was my being a fat ass. Later, I visited my proctologist and set up a colonoscopy for this coming Thursday. I swear there must be a gravitational anomaly at the scale in her office.
We drove to Kingston on Saturday to get local, grass fed, organic meat at Fleischer's and to take in the farmers' market. We got some cheeses and bread, some nectarines and brussels sprouts, and some comb honey. We bought a month's worth of meat. We also had lunch at a delightful French restaurant, Le Canard Enchaine. Lunch there will now become part of our monthly Kingston routine.
Among the things we acquired at Fleischer's was a brisket. They had stocked up for the Jewish holidays, although I don't know if the place is kosher. We don't care, since we're not Jews, and if we were Jews we'd probably be secular bacon eating Jews like most Jews we know. Anyway, Mrs Vache Folle brushed on a mix of broth and barbecue sauce, and we cooked the thing at 275 degrees for over five hours. At an hour before it was done, we threw in a mess of taters, carrots and 'shrooms. The meat was practically falling apart and melted in our mouths. The leftovers have been callling to me.
I did a lot of mucking this weekend now that the water level in the pond is very low. Mrs Vache Folle, as part of mucking avoidance, harvested and processed a lot of vegetables from the garden. She found a pretty good recipe for turnips, and we used the carrots in the brisket. We'll have to give away squashes and chard, if we can get any takers. I need to pull out at least 50 more wheelbarrow loads of muck, and there's lots more to harvest from the garden.
We still don't have a choir director, so I haven't been singing in church. I haven't even been attending services. I don't know what the plan is for the choir, but I'll be very disappointed if the church goes all contemporary, all the time and dispenses with the chancel choir. Frankly, I'd have to change churches or just spend some time church-free. The music program is that important to me.
I went to the podiatrist on Thursday and found out my heel problem is plantar fasciitis. I got a shot of cortisone right in my heel and a prescription for arch supports. The podiatrist wrote down the diagnosis so I could "Google it". That way he didn't have tell me that the root cause of the problem was my being a fat ass. Later, I visited my proctologist and set up a colonoscopy for this coming Thursday. I swear there must be a gravitational anomaly at the scale in her office.
We drove to Kingston on Saturday to get local, grass fed, organic meat at Fleischer's and to take in the farmers' market. We got some cheeses and bread, some nectarines and brussels sprouts, and some comb honey. We bought a month's worth of meat. We also had lunch at a delightful French restaurant, Le Canard Enchaine. Lunch there will now become part of our monthly Kingston routine.
Among the things we acquired at Fleischer's was a brisket. They had stocked up for the Jewish holidays, although I don't know if the place is kosher. We don't care, since we're not Jews, and if we were Jews we'd probably be secular bacon eating Jews like most Jews we know. Anyway, Mrs Vache Folle brushed on a mix of broth and barbecue sauce, and we cooked the thing at 275 degrees for over five hours. At an hour before it was done, we threw in a mess of taters, carrots and 'shrooms. The meat was practically falling apart and melted in our mouths. The leftovers have been callling to me.
I did a lot of mucking this weekend now that the water level in the pond is very low. Mrs Vache Folle, as part of mucking avoidance, harvested and processed a lot of vegetables from the garden. She found a pretty good recipe for turnips, and we used the carrots in the brisket. We'll have to give away squashes and chard, if we can get any takers. I need to pull out at least 50 more wheelbarrow loads of muck, and there's lots more to harvest from the garden.
We still don't have a choir director, so I haven't been singing in church. I haven't even been attending services. I don't know what the plan is for the choir, but I'll be very disappointed if the church goes all contemporary, all the time and dispenses with the chancel choir. Frankly, I'd have to change churches or just spend some time church-free. The music program is that important to me.
Friday, September 18, 2009
More Exodus
Moses, and his brother and mouthpiece Aaron, are charged with informing the Hebrews that I AM, the God of their ancestors, is going to take them out of Egypt and install them in the Promised Land. Moses has been given some magical powers (a staff that becomes a snake and a leprous hand that heals itself) to convince the Hebrews of his bona fides. Moses and Aaron are also charged with approaching Pharaoah about ketting the Hebrews leave.
At the same time, I AM hardens Pharaoh's heart so that he won't let the Hebrews leave in order that He may smite the Egyptians with a series of plagues. These culminate in the visitation of the Angel o' Death and the demise of every firstborn. (As a firstborn myself, I have always taken issue with this story. Why not the secondborn for a change?) The Hebrews take off, not before plundering, and Pharoah pursues them. Moses parts the Red Sea, the Hebrews cross on dry land, and the Egyptians are drowned.
The story strains credulity, but it makes for one powerful myth for nationbuilding later on. Does it matter whether the Hebrews actually fled fom Egypt? Not as far as I'm concerned. Which is a good thing since I'm pretty sure it didn't happen on the scale suggested by the story.
At the same time, I AM hardens Pharaoh's heart so that he won't let the Hebrews leave in order that He may smite the Egyptians with a series of plagues. These culminate in the visitation of the Angel o' Death and the demise of every firstborn. (As a firstborn myself, I have always taken issue with this story. Why not the secondborn for a change?) The Hebrews take off, not before plundering, and Pharoah pursues them. Moses parts the Red Sea, the Hebrews cross on dry land, and the Egyptians are drowned.
The story strains credulity, but it makes for one powerful myth for nationbuilding later on. Does it matter whether the Hebrews actually fled fom Egypt? Not as far as I'm concerned. Which is a good thing since I'm pretty sure it didn't happen on the scale suggested by the story.
A Mystery
God made Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and their ilk for His own ineffable purposes, and He made a mutlitude of humans stupid enough to heed them. Farther along, we'll understand why.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Democrats are Better than Republicans
Right wingers seem to be all over the place ideologically. The coalition includes country clubbers who just want to keep their taxes down and swarthy people out of their neighborhoods (except their servants) and Christian Dominionists who want to establish an American Taliban of sorts. Then there's them as are motivated almost entirely by race and ethnic hatred. Moreover, there's a slew of just plain authoritarians who can't stand it when anyone has any choices in life they they themselves wouldn't make (or claim that they wouldn't make). What holds all this together? Stupidity on the part of the right wing electorate and a shameless desire for power at any cost by the right wing leadership. Otherwise, the coalition makes no sense, and you'd have some Republican politicians who at least pretended to give a rat's ass about the well being of the country.
That's also why it's easier for the right to keep its focus on a set of insane talking points and to be disciplined. There aren't any real differences of opinion among them, just competition for place within the Party. They don't have to think about policy or the common good, because that's irrelevant to them. In fact, the shittier things are, the better for them since they rely so heavily on fear and anxiety.
The Democrats, while not being saints, actually seem to care about policy and to have genuine good faith differences among themselves. This makes them look "undisciplined" compared to the GOP with its officials marching in lockstep all the time. The left sometimes wishes that its party were more ruthless and under tighter control, but that would be a monstrous tragedy and the end of even the appearance of democracy. If we had two parties engaged in a no holds barred power grab, they would destroy the country. As it is, the GOP may be able to destroy the country all by itself.
That's also why it's easier for the right to keep its focus on a set of insane talking points and to be disciplined. There aren't any real differences of opinion among them, just competition for place within the Party. They don't have to think about policy or the common good, because that's irrelevant to them. In fact, the shittier things are, the better for them since they rely so heavily on fear and anxiety.
The Democrats, while not being saints, actually seem to care about policy and to have genuine good faith differences among themselves. This makes them look "undisciplined" compared to the GOP with its officials marching in lockstep all the time. The left sometimes wishes that its party were more ruthless and under tighter control, but that would be a monstrous tragedy and the end of even the appearance of democracy. If we had two parties engaged in a no holds barred power grab, they would destroy the country. As it is, the GOP may be able to destroy the country all by itself.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
GOP=Bolshevik?
I noticed that some right wing jack offs have decided to be "anti-Czar" and to claim falsely that they represent the majority. Do you know who else took these same positions? Vladimir I. Lenin, that's who. He was against the Czar, and he called his party the Bolshevik Party, or Majority Party, even though they did not represent a majority.
It turns out the GOP is full of Commies.
It turns out the GOP is full of Commies.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Celebs Behaving Badly
I have had a few meltdowns in my day, but I was lucky that they didn't take place in very public situations and they weren't on tape. I can identify with Serena Williams and her tantrum involving a line judge. I might have promised to put the ball in a different orifice. Of course, Miss Williams will suffer the consequences. This isn't the NFL, you know. It's better to be able to control these things, and I am blessed that the Holy Ghost has helped me curb my anger.
Kanye West's behavior was of a very different order. It was the height of douchebaggery to take the stage and spoil Taylor Swift's and, ultimately, Beyonce's moments. He's not likely to suffer any consequences. Maybe this will start a hip hop/country feud that will end in a bloodbath. I hope not. He should have written a poem that expressed his feelings and put it to music.
Kanye West's behavior was of a very different order. It was the height of douchebaggery to take the stage and spoil Taylor Swift's and, ultimately, Beyonce's moments. He's not likely to suffer any consequences. Maybe this will start a hip hop/country feud that will end in a bloodbath. I hope not. He should have written a poem that expressed his feelings and put it to music.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Cops
On our way out of NYC a week ago Sunday, we had to stop on the Saw Mill Parkway for a DWI checkpoint. I had had a cocktail and a glass of wine several hours earlier but was not impaired in the least. It's possible that my blood alcohol content might have exceeded the ridiculously low level for driving while intoxicated, so the checkpoint provoked a little anxiety. I was prepared, however, to follow the advice I always give: look the cop right in the eye and lie. If he asks you whether you have been drinking, say "no, I haven't". Never say anything like "I had a couple of beers" or "I had wine with dinner". That's all the thugs need to make you blow in the breathalizer doohickey.
They didn't ask and just waved me through. To be cute, a couple of cops stood just inside my lane and pretty much dared me to brush them with my side mirrors. I didn't, though. That's another piece of free legal advice for you. Don't run over the cops.
I hate it when cops ask me "Do you know why I stopped you?" I do not plan to incriminate myself, and I have a hard time holding back a smart ass rejoinder. Some of the responses that come into my head are:
"Racial profiling?"
"Those warrants from Arizona?"
"You solved all the murders and don't have anything better to do?"
"You're hitting on me?"
Do as I do. Don't say these things out loud. Don't provoke the police, especially bored to death highway patrolmen. They genuinely have nothing better to do than fuck with you.
I know where the cops hang out on the Taconic, so I always abide by the speed limit when I'm in their hunting grounds. They're too lazy and unimaginative to occupy new stations, so everybody speeds like hell except where the cops usually lurk. The junction with I-84 is a favorite cop hangout so slow down as you approach it.
They didn't ask and just waved me through. To be cute, a couple of cops stood just inside my lane and pretty much dared me to brush them with my side mirrors. I didn't, though. That's another piece of free legal advice for you. Don't run over the cops.
I hate it when cops ask me "Do you know why I stopped you?" I do not plan to incriminate myself, and I have a hard time holding back a smart ass rejoinder. Some of the responses that come into my head are:
"Racial profiling?"
"Those warrants from Arizona?"
"You solved all the murders and don't have anything better to do?"
"You're hitting on me?"
Do as I do. Don't say these things out loud. Don't provoke the police, especially bored to death highway patrolmen. They genuinely have nothing better to do than fuck with you.
I know where the cops hang out on the Taconic, so I always abide by the speed limit when I'm in their hunting grounds. They're too lazy and unimaginative to occupy new stations, so everybody speeds like hell except where the cops usually lurk. The junction with I-84 is a favorite cop hangout so slow down as you approach it.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Ungentlemanlike Conduct
I know that Congresscritters, especially from the GOP, are unmitigated douchenozzles by definition, but they should at least pretend to act like ladies and gentlemen.
Take Shouty Joe Wilson, for example. He's an example of how gentlemanlike conduct is no longer to be expected from Members of Congress. I reckon they'll let anybody be a Congressman these days.
Shouty Joe is also a retired colonel of the National Guard, a calling that once was reserved to gentlemen. Nowadays anybody may receive commission it seems. He's a lawyer, too, another once respectable profession now made available to all comers and having no more dignity than that of an intinerant grifting driveway resurfacer. See how far we have fallen as a society when an officer and a lawyer and a Congressman no longer feels any need to try to behave with decorum during an address by the President of the United States to a joint session of Congress. The man's a southerner, the last holdout for good manners, so we know civility is good and dead.
Let's hope that Shouty Joe's mother did not live to see his shameful conduct.
Take Shouty Joe Wilson, for example. He's an example of how gentlemanlike conduct is no longer to be expected from Members of Congress. I reckon they'll let anybody be a Congressman these days.
Shouty Joe is also a retired colonel of the National Guard, a calling that once was reserved to gentlemen. Nowadays anybody may receive commission it seems. He's a lawyer, too, another once respectable profession now made available to all comers and having no more dignity than that of an intinerant grifting driveway resurfacer. See how far we have fallen as a society when an officer and a lawyer and a Congressman no longer feels any need to try to behave with decorum during an address by the President of the United States to a joint session of Congress. The man's a southerner, the last holdout for good manners, so we know civility is good and dead.
Let's hope that Shouty Joe's mother did not live to see his shameful conduct.
Workers Comp Pays for Pizza Cook's Weight Loss Surgery
Via Huffington Post I found this story about a pizza cook whose employer is being forced to pay for his weight loss surgery http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/10/court-says-employer-must-_n_282676.html The 340 pounder was injured on the job, and his doctors opine that he has to drop considerable weight before required back surgery can be undertaken.
This is an instance I reckon of taking your victim as you find him. If a really fat man hurts his back or knees or hip or what have you, there's a good chance that weight loss surgery will be needed as a prerequisite to healing the injured part.
The author of the article reckons that this will give employers an incentive to take a pass on really fat applicants for employment.
This is an instance I reckon of taking your victim as you find him. If a really fat man hurts his back or knees or hip or what have you, there's a good chance that weight loss surgery will be needed as a prerequisite to healing the injured part.
The author of the article reckons that this will give employers an incentive to take a pass on really fat applicants for employment.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
This and That
My aunt and uncle are in town for the tennis matches, so we started following the tennis to be able to converse about it with them. I must say that I've enjoyed the amazing run of fellow Georgian Melanie Oudin a/k/a the Russian Slayer.
I have had something wrong with my right foot for several weeks now. My heel hurts excrutiatingly all the time even though there are no signs of inflammation or contusions. I am set to see a podiatrist next week. The same day, I'm also scheduled to see my ass doctor to set up a colonoscopy. Has it really been three years? The procedure itself is not so bad, but the prep is medieval.
Yesterday Mrs Vache Folle and I treated ourselves to spa manicures and pedicures. Today, I aim to muck in the pond and wreck my beautiful nails. I haven't been able to muck all summer because the incessant rain has kept the pond too deep, so I've got some catching up to do.
Speaking of the pond, that blue heron is hanging out in a tulip tree by the back yard even as I type. He's waiting for Jasper to let down his guard so he can eat my comets.
The neighbor's cats have been eating the voles by the big shed. Good for them. The voles have been emboldened by the food scraps in the compost heap, and now the cats are taking advantage. Maybe they'll stay away from the bird feeder for a while.
So many of my countrymen are batshit crazy that it is truly frightening. At least some of them have had the decency to self identify by taking their spawn out of school today to keep them from being exposed to President Obama's innocuous speech.
I have had something wrong with my right foot for several weeks now. My heel hurts excrutiatingly all the time even though there are no signs of inflammation or contusions. I am set to see a podiatrist next week. The same day, I'm also scheduled to see my ass doctor to set up a colonoscopy. Has it really been three years? The procedure itself is not so bad, but the prep is medieval.
Yesterday Mrs Vache Folle and I treated ourselves to spa manicures and pedicures. Today, I aim to muck in the pond and wreck my beautiful nails. I haven't been able to muck all summer because the incessant rain has kept the pond too deep, so I've got some catching up to do.
Speaking of the pond, that blue heron is hanging out in a tulip tree by the back yard even as I type. He's waiting for Jasper to let down his guard so he can eat my comets.
The neighbor's cats have been eating the voles by the big shed. Good for them. The voles have been emboldened by the food scraps in the compost heap, and now the cats are taking advantage. Maybe they'll stay away from the bird feeder for a while.
So many of my countrymen are batshit crazy that it is truly frightening. At least some of them have had the decency to self identify by taking their spawn out of school today to keep them from being exposed to President Obama's innocuous speech.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Half Moon
Four centuries ago this week, Henry Hudson in his vessel the Half Moon discovered the Hudson River. All along the Hudson Valley, we are celebrating the quadricentennial.
As an expat from Dixie, you'd think I had no real stake in the quadricentennial, but you'd be wrong. It turns out that some of my ancestors, the Van Hoozers and their kin and affines, were among the earliest settlers in the Hudson Valley and the founders of Claverack about an hour north of where I now live. One of the Van Hoozers made his way to North Carolina in the 18th century and spawned a great many southern descendants.
Jan Franze Van Hoozer (or Van Hussen as it was sometimes spelled then) was from Huss in Schleswig Holstein. He migrated to Amsterdam and then to the Hudson Valley in the 17th century.
I'm also related to Livingston of Livingston Manor, so I'm looking forward to the quadricentennial as a celebration of my heritage.
As an expat from Dixie, you'd think I had no real stake in the quadricentennial, but you'd be wrong. It turns out that some of my ancestors, the Van Hoozers and their kin and affines, were among the earliest settlers in the Hudson Valley and the founders of Claverack about an hour north of where I now live. One of the Van Hoozers made his way to North Carolina in the 18th century and spawned a great many southern descendants.
Jan Franze Van Hoozer (or Van Hussen as it was sometimes spelled then) was from Huss in Schleswig Holstein. He migrated to Amsterdam and then to the Hudson Valley in the 17th century.
I'm also related to Livingston of Livingston Manor, so I'm looking forward to the quadricentennial as a celebration of my heritage.
Expressions
When someone uses the expression "boots on the ground" with a number to describe an investment in personnel, are we supposed to divide the number by two to get the number of people? I vote that we use the expression only when there's no precise number involved as in "enough boots on the ground" or "more boots on the ground" or "fewer boots on the ground". I also vote that we use the expression sparingly in the context of discussing the importance of land forces in a military undertaking. It should never be used to describe a parade or a crowd.
I really like the expression "true dat". I have been insensibly substituting it in my speech for "tell you what" and "boy howdy". It gives me a more urban edge, don't you think?
If I hear "it is what it is" one more time, I may very well kill someone. What the hell does that even mean? To say that something is what it is is to say less than nothing about it. I have taken to responding to this expression with "or is it?" to which I get befuddled looks. I suspect an insidious Randian influence at work.
I haven't gotten any traction with my campaign to make "smell you later" the preferred farewell phrase. My German agent dropped the ball and failed to introduce it into Europe as I had hoped. I like "see you later" because I get to say "not if I see you first", but "smell you later" would really rock.
I had a friend in university who responded to "how are you" with "better than most and not as good as some". I reckon there is a social compact that dictates that the response to "how are you" should invariably be "fine, and you", but there are many folks who didn't get the memo and who insist on describing their minor ailments and complaints. This forces me to pretend to care. I have taken to offering radical advice on how to deal with the complaints, and I hope that this will provide a disincentive to the whiners (as I call them in my head). Maybe I'll answer "how are you" truthfully and see how it goes. "How are you, Vache?" "Pretty good except for persistent scrotal and perineal itching, and you?"
I have not had the opportunity to use "see you in hell" in conversation in years or to have it directed at me. What a shame.
I really like the expression "true dat". I have been insensibly substituting it in my speech for "tell you what" and "boy howdy". It gives me a more urban edge, don't you think?
If I hear "it is what it is" one more time, I may very well kill someone. What the hell does that even mean? To say that something is what it is is to say less than nothing about it. I have taken to responding to this expression with "or is it?" to which I get befuddled looks. I suspect an insidious Randian influence at work.
I haven't gotten any traction with my campaign to make "smell you later" the preferred farewell phrase. My German agent dropped the ball and failed to introduce it into Europe as I had hoped. I like "see you later" because I get to say "not if I see you first", but "smell you later" would really rock.
I had a friend in university who responded to "how are you" with "better than most and not as good as some". I reckon there is a social compact that dictates that the response to "how are you" should invariably be "fine, and you", but there are many folks who didn't get the memo and who insist on describing their minor ailments and complaints. This forces me to pretend to care. I have taken to offering radical advice on how to deal with the complaints, and I hope that this will provide a disincentive to the whiners (as I call them in my head). Maybe I'll answer "how are you" truthfully and see how it goes. "How are you, Vache?" "Pretty good except for persistent scrotal and perineal itching, and you?"
I have not had the opportunity to use "see you in hell" in conversation in years or to have it directed at me. What a shame.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Obama's Vietnam
On Countdown, or some such show, the other day, it came up that some GOP strategists were looking to make Afghanistan "Obama's Vietnam". The opening salvo may have been George Will's column calling for withdrawal from Afghanistan.
What would the target constituency be for such a strategy? Democrats and Obama supporters tend to be smart enough to know that Aghanistan was inherited by Obama and screwed up by GW Bush. Even the most anti-war of liberals aren't going to align themselves with the GOP. I reckon you might keep some of them home on election day, but the GOP is bound to nominate a scary candidate that will offset any tendency on the left to stay away from the polls.
Is there some group in the swing voter set that the GOP would be courting? I suppose that there are quite a few complete dumbasses among swing voters. At the least the GOP is counting on a high level of dumbassery.
What about the GOP base? I reckon they'll do as they're told. Cognitive dissonance only matters when there's sufficient cognitive capacity. Still, the GOP has invested a lot in the meme that supporting the troops equals supporting the war, and it may be hard for even the most authoritarian among us to do a complete 180. Every weekend for years, a bunch of yahoos hang out on Route 9 near the Galleria Mall and wave flags and signs that support the wars and the troops. Across the way, some peace demonstrators do their thing. If the call goes out from Rush Limbaugh, will these folks cross the street and carry peace signs?
What would the target constituency be for such a strategy? Democrats and Obama supporters tend to be smart enough to know that Aghanistan was inherited by Obama and screwed up by GW Bush. Even the most anti-war of liberals aren't going to align themselves with the GOP. I reckon you might keep some of them home on election day, but the GOP is bound to nominate a scary candidate that will offset any tendency on the left to stay away from the polls.
Is there some group in the swing voter set that the GOP would be courting? I suppose that there are quite a few complete dumbasses among swing voters. At the least the GOP is counting on a high level of dumbassery.
What about the GOP base? I reckon they'll do as they're told. Cognitive dissonance only matters when there's sufficient cognitive capacity. Still, the GOP has invested a lot in the meme that supporting the troops equals supporting the war, and it may be hard for even the most authoritarian among us to do a complete 180. Every weekend for years, a bunch of yahoos hang out on Route 9 near the Galleria Mall and wave flags and signs that support the wars and the troops. Across the way, some peace demonstrators do their thing. If the call goes out from Rush Limbaugh, will these folks cross the street and carry peace signs?
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Coyote Serenade
For over five years now, we've been regaled from time to time with the strangely beautiful midnight caterwauling of some animals. This gets Jasper all riled up, and we have to drag him in from a barking frenzy. Mrs Vache Folle has for years insisted that this was a rout of coyotes, but I always reckoned she didn't know peediddlysquat about life in the country. It turns out she has been correct all along. My apologies for doubting you, Madam.
I saw one of them yesterday in broad daylight down by Kiyiwana farms. Of course, they're naturally diurnal and only stick to darkness to stay shy of humankind, so this was not alarming or anything. What beautiful animals they are.
I saw one of them yesterday in broad daylight down by Kiyiwana farms. Of course, they're naturally diurnal and only stick to darkness to stay shy of humankind, so this was not alarming or anything. What beautiful animals they are.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Exodus
We've finally worked our way through Genesis and are ready to examine the fabulous tale of Exodus. Let me be honest with you right up front. I don't believe this story. It's just not borne out by history, archaeology or common sense. I'll grant that some "Hebrews", as we find them called for the first time, were enslaved in Egypt and escaped to the Promised Land, but I reckon most of them were already in the Promised Land and that the refugees from Egypt and the various tribes in situ united to take control of gthe region at some point. Exodus was a useful myth to bind the tribes together and to justify their genocidal rampage across the land.
That's not to say that Exodus isn't interesting or useful for instruction. We get the first inklings of God's Law in Exodus.
The central character, other than God, is Moses. He's a Hebrew by birth, but he ends up adopted by Pharoah's daughter. He commits a murder and has to flee into the land of Midian. He settles in with Jethro, the priest of Midian, and marries one of his daughters.
Meanwhile, back in Egypt, the Hebrews have been complaining about their mistreatment so much that God hears about it. Then He remembers that covenant he made with the patriarchs and decides to use Moses in His plan to liberate the Hebrews and install them in the Promised Land.
For reasons known only to God, He appears to Moses in the form of a talking burning bush and informs Moses of his mission. Moses asks God His name, and God replies that His name is "I AM". God promises that He will smite the Egyptians and that the Hebrews will get to plunder them on their way out.
That's not to say that Exodus isn't interesting or useful for instruction. We get the first inklings of God's Law in Exodus.
The central character, other than God, is Moses. He's a Hebrew by birth, but he ends up adopted by Pharoah's daughter. He commits a murder and has to flee into the land of Midian. He settles in with Jethro, the priest of Midian, and marries one of his daughters.
Meanwhile, back in Egypt, the Hebrews have been complaining about their mistreatment so much that God hears about it. Then He remembers that covenant he made with the patriarchs and decides to use Moses in His plan to liberate the Hebrews and install them in the Promised Land.
For reasons known only to God, He appears to Moses in the form of a talking burning bush and informs Moses of his mission. Moses asks God His name, and God replies that His name is "I AM". God promises that He will smite the Egyptians and that the Hebrews will get to plunder them on their way out.
Texas Has To Go
The idea that states may secede from the US was pretty much laid to rest in 1865. However, we haven't yet tested the idea of expulsion of states. I say we try it out on Texas. Texas is a cancer on the US, and it must be amputated if our country is ever to be healthy.
Imagine America without Texas. Pretty nice, huh?
Texas would make a handy third world country right in our backyard for any other whackos to emigrate to. We'd have Texas as an example of what life would be like if the whackadoodles were in control. That'd shut a few folks up.
Of course, we'll want to close all military installations and move our stuff out of Texas before we kick them out. Texans in the military would be discharged unless they renounce Texan citizenship and take a loyalty oath. Texans should be required to have visas to travel to the US, and most of them shouldn't be allowed in under any circumstances. Texans hate us for our freedoms.
Imagine America without Texas. Pretty nice, huh?
Texas would make a handy third world country right in our backyard for any other whackos to emigrate to. We'd have Texas as an example of what life would be like if the whackadoodles were in control. That'd shut a few folks up.
Of course, we'll want to close all military installations and move our stuff out of Texas before we kick them out. Texans in the military would be discharged unless they renounce Texan citizenship and take a loyalty oath. Texans should be required to have visas to travel to the US, and most of them shouldn't be allowed in under any circumstances. Texans hate us for our freedoms.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Good Thing We Have the Holy Ghost
Sunday's sermon had a theme that each of us "belongs to the ages". On the one hand, the preacher wanted us to recall that we were made for eternity, while on the other he stressed the importance of "the dash" on your tombstone between your birth and death dates. He was kind of all over the place if you ask me. He preached about King David whose deeds served the purposes of the Lord in his generation and who then died. He also spoke of several parishioners who had recently died and whose lives of service and faith had been so meaningful and whose legacy lived on in the church.
That's the problem with the whole eternal life thing. What's the point of the here and now really if it's just a minor blip? We probably won't even remember ever having been alive after a couple of thousand years in the afterlife.
Since we have the Holy Ghost now, we are already living in eternity to the extent that He/She/It dwells in us. The Holy Ghost makes us love our neighbors and attend to the suffering in this world even though we have the hope of eternal life. Without the Holy Ghost, the promise of eternal life would blind us to the troubles of the world.
That's the problem with the whole eternal life thing. What's the point of the here and now really if it's just a minor blip? We probably won't even remember ever having been alive after a couple of thousand years in the afterlife.
Since we have the Holy Ghost now, we are already living in eternity to the extent that He/She/It dwells in us. The Holy Ghost makes us love our neighbors and attend to the suffering in this world even though we have the hope of eternal life. Without the Holy Ghost, the promise of eternal life would blind us to the troubles of the world.
Taking Woodstock
Mrs Vache Folle and I went to see "Taking Woodstock" on Saturday. We found it sufficiently diverting to recommend it to people we like. We like Demetri Martin, and he was good in it as Elliot Tiber, the son of down on their luck Catskill moteliers who helped bring the Woodstock Festival to his town. I don't have any idea how accurate the movie was, but I don't really care. I was eleven years old at the time and read a little about it in LIFE magazine a few months later. It didn't signify for me since the sexual and cultural revolution, just as Sherman's army had a century earlier, bypassed my hometown altogether. I didn't find out about the revolution until I was in college.
Anyway, I don't have any special attachment to the idea of Woodstock as anything other than a music festival that was well attended. So I had no expectations for the movie and was content with a story that hung on the fringes of the event. The story treats the concert goers as pretty nice people, and I suppose they were since there weren't very many casualties.
Anyway, I don't have any special attachment to the idea of Woodstock as anything other than a music festival that was well attended. So I had no expectations for the movie and was content with a story that hung on the fringes of the event. The story treats the concert goers as pretty nice people, and I suppose they were since there weren't very many casualties.
God Will Increase and His Fancy Coat
God Will Increase was Strives With God's favorite of his twelve sons. He was a tattler and he was tactless enough to lord it over his brothers when he had dreams that he would rule over them. So they conspired to murder him. Behold a Son convinced the other brothers to spare God Will Increase, so they sold him into slavery instead and told their old man that he had been eaten by a wild beast. They bloodied up God Will Increase's many hued coat that Strives With God had given him as evidence.
Everybody knows the story of how God Will Increase, on the strength of his dream interpretation skills but an otherwise pretty sketchy resume, rose from obscure slavery and imprisonment to become the steward of all Egypt during seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
God Will Increase's brothers end up in Egypt during the famine to buy food, and God Will Increase messes with them big time. He doesn't reveal his identity to them and frames them for theft. He demands that they go home and bring their youngest brother Son of My Right Arm and holds some hostages. Hilarity ensues with the big reveal, and God Will Increase forgives his brothers. He moves the whole family to Egypt. This sets up the book of Exodus.
The moral of the story is that it's ok to sell your kid brother into slavery as long as it ends well.
Everybody knows the story of how God Will Increase, on the strength of his dream interpretation skills but an otherwise pretty sketchy resume, rose from obscure slavery and imprisonment to become the steward of all Egypt during seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
God Will Increase's brothers end up in Egypt during the famine to buy food, and God Will Increase messes with them big time. He doesn't reveal his identity to them and frames them for theft. He demands that they go home and bring their youngest brother Son of My Right Arm and holds some hostages. Hilarity ensues with the big reveal, and God Will Increase forgives his brothers. He moves the whole family to Egypt. This sets up the book of Exodus.
The moral of the story is that it's ok to sell your kid brother into slavery as long as it ends well.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
What the Government Does For Me
Mrs Vache Folle and I "own" our home. That is to say that as long as we keep paying the banks who hold the mortgages and the taxing authorities at whose sufferance we are permitted to occupy "our" home, we can live in it and fix it up more or less as we please (subject to permit requirements and zoning restrictions and what have you). We have a yard and garden and several acres of woods, and we have the right to the exclusive use of these (until they're condemned by the government and taken away). We are perfectly within our rights to exclude others from our property, and I suppose that having the backing of the state and the police in this is something of a deterrent to those who might otherwise squat on our property or invade our home.
We don't really have to do much to exercise our rights to exclusive use. In fact, as far as I know, nobody has ever trespassed. We take sensible precautions such as locking the doors when we leave and keeping a scary looking dog or two. Moreover, we maintain good relations with our stay at home neighbors who keep an eye on the place. We all keep an eye out for suspicious doings and look our for our neighbors (except for the antisocial nutty ones).
Much of the security we enjoy derives from the good fortune of having amiable and honest neighbors who respect one another's privacy and boundaries and who care for one another. I also suspect that a lot of the security we enjoy comes from the concept of state sanctioned property rights and other machinations of the government. I like the convenience of not having to guard everything all the time and not having to be prepared to defend the possession of our estate from all comers. There are just a few comers, the state and the banks, that we have to contend with. With the banks, we volunteered to have them in the title records. With the government, we didn't volunteer, but it's probably worth a good deal of what we pay to have the potential protection afforded by the police and the courts. In a shittier neighborhood, this protection probably wouldn't be worth much, and property values and tax rates reflect this.
Beyond the police and courts and having the force of the law behind us, local government works to mantain the quality of the inhabitants of our neighborhood by taxing for schools at such a high rate that high income families are attracted by the promise of good (i.e. having relatively few low income students) schools and are willing to pay higher prices for homes in the community. This elevates home values and taxes on them and drives low income families out of the neighborhood by taxing them beyond what they can afford or making selling their homes too lucrative to pass up. This in turn decreases the probability that our property rights will be trampled on by anyone other than the government itself.
Finally, the government enforces significant restrictions on development which prevent us and our neighbors from subdividing our property and putting up denser housing. This likewise serves to keep the level of riff raff manageable.
I hate to admit it, but a lot of what makes my neighborhood desirable may very well be a product of government. Did I mention that about half of the neighborhood is owned by NYC as a preserve for its water supply? That keeps development down and our quality of life up.
If only we could achieve all this without the threat of violence.
Reflections on Genesis
In rereading Genesis, I have been amazed to notice, for the first time in many readings, that quite a few important concepts are missing. There's no Satan, for a huge example. There's also no concept of the immortal soul. Accordingly, there's also no heaven, no hell and no afterlife. Rewards and punishments, such as they are, come in the present life, and the most important promises are corporate. Father of Multitudes is promised seed beyond number, and I suppose that was a comfort to him, but he himself was destined to return to the dust from whence he came. His immortality consists in his descendants, in the nation that would arise from him.
We'll have to keep a lookout for the appearance and subsequent evolution of the missing concepts as we continue our Bible study.
We'll have to keep a lookout for the appearance and subsequent evolution of the missing concepts as we continue our Bible study.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Freedom
One of the leading ideas about the origin of the state is the "hydraulic theory". In a nutshell and doing it no service, the theory states that societies dependent on irrigation for agriculture were vulnerable to someone's taking control of the water and exerting power over others. Some warlord and his goons could seize the waterworks or provide protection of the waterworks from other warlords and their goons in exchange for taxes and obedience. I suppose any necessary infrastructure would do as a basis for enslavement.
It seems to me that sedentism is the first requirement. It would be hard, although not impossible, to lord it over foragers. I suppose you could stake out a claim to a hunting ground and demand tribute, but the effort involved in that would exceed the effort involved in being a collaborative forager or the leader of a foraging band. Nomads would be easier to extort from since they need grazing lands and water that you could, in principle, control. This would probably not be very profitable as the sole basis of a protection racket but it might be a good sideline for an already established protostate. Agriculture with its concomitant supluses and the greater division of labor is a prerequisite to a truly profitable racket.
It's possible that some of the early racketeeers may have actually added value by protecting their victims, er subjects, from the ravages of worse racketeers and by extracting less than they might have. Some early racketeers may have hit upon the idea that there was an optimum level of extraction that would generate the most revenue while encouraging industry and the convenient acquiesence of the subjects in the rule of the racketeers. Eventually, some of the racketeers would have discovered the idea of the republic wherein the racketeers would rule under the fiction that they did so with the affirmative consent of the ruled.
The lesson of history, I suppose, is that there is always some asshole who is ready to to serve as your warlord. If you have anyting you care about, that's the source of their power. Freedom, it has bee famously said, is just another word for nothing left to lose.
It seems to me that sedentism is the first requirement. It would be hard, although not impossible, to lord it over foragers. I suppose you could stake out a claim to a hunting ground and demand tribute, but the effort involved in that would exceed the effort involved in being a collaborative forager or the leader of a foraging band. Nomads would be easier to extort from since they need grazing lands and water that you could, in principle, control. This would probably not be very profitable as the sole basis of a protection racket but it might be a good sideline for an already established protostate. Agriculture with its concomitant supluses and the greater division of labor is a prerequisite to a truly profitable racket.
It's possible that some of the early racketeeers may have actually added value by protecting their victims, er subjects, from the ravages of worse racketeers and by extracting less than they might have. Some early racketeers may have hit upon the idea that there was an optimum level of extraction that would generate the most revenue while encouraging industry and the convenient acquiesence of the subjects in the rule of the racketeers. Eventually, some of the racketeers would have discovered the idea of the republic wherein the racketeers would rule under the fiction that they did so with the affirmative consent of the ruled.
The lesson of history, I suppose, is that there is always some asshole who is ready to to serve as your warlord. If you have anyting you care about, that's the source of their power. Freedom, it has bee famously said, is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Monday, August 24, 2009
If I Didn't Self Identify as an Anarchist, How Would Anyone Know I was one?
If I really think about it and am honest with myself, Vache Folle the anarchist isn't very different from Vache Folle the deluded dupe of the state. Sure, I'm disllusioned and have learned as a mental exercise to problematize the concept of the state, but my personal actions aren't much different on account of it. I was never active politically in any event, and I wasn't one to collaborate with the government even when I accepted its legitimacy and necessity without question.
I suppose my attitude is different. Nowadays, I acquiesce in the actions and extractions of the government. I sometimes have to work to avoid feeling bitter and resentful, but by and large I pay my taxes and obey the law (mostly) with indifference. I don't want to be locked up or murdered, so I just go along with it. I like my house, so I pay my property taxes quietly in order to keep it.
If I never expressed an opinion about the state's being problematic, you'd never know my views were anything outside the mainstream. I don't know that my lifestyle is informed in any way by my political views.
Of course, my political views stem from my religious beliefs and these do, albeit not to the extent that one might hope, inform my life choices and the way I treat others.
I suppose my attitude is different. Nowadays, I acquiesce in the actions and extractions of the government. I sometimes have to work to avoid feeling bitter and resentful, but by and large I pay my taxes and obey the law (mostly) with indifference. I don't want to be locked up or murdered, so I just go along with it. I like my house, so I pay my property taxes quietly in order to keep it.
If I never expressed an opinion about the state's being problematic, you'd never know my views were anything outside the mainstream. I don't know that my lifestyle is informed in any way by my political views.
Of course, my political views stem from my religious beliefs and these do, albeit not to the extent that one might hope, inform my life choices and the way I treat others.
Friday, August 21, 2009
More Genesis
When we last looked in on Supplanter, he was annoyed at his sons for their mass murder of the males of the city of Shechem and their pillaging. God tells him to move to Bethel. Oddly, since God supposedly already did this three chapters ago, God renames Supplanter Strives With God and promises to multiply his seed just as had been promised to Supplanter's father and grandfather.
In Bethel, Ewe goes into labor and dies in childbirth. As she is dying, she names her new son Son of My Sorrow. Strives With God renames him Son of My Right Hand.
Then Strives With God goes to see his old man He Laughs who, at the age of 180, dies and is buried by Strives With God and He Finishes.
In Genesis 36, just as Father of Multitudes and his nephew had to split up to avoid exceeding the carrying capacity of the land, He Finishes moves away from Strives With God to the hill country of Seir. He has descendants who became known as the Edomites. Some genealogical details are provided but these are neither entertaining or instructive.
In Bethel, Ewe goes into labor and dies in childbirth. As she is dying, she names her new son Son of My Sorrow. Strives With God renames him Son of My Right Hand.
Then Strives With God goes to see his old man He Laughs who, at the age of 180, dies and is buried by Strives With God and He Finishes.
In Genesis 36, just as Father of Multitudes and his nephew had to split up to avoid exceeding the carrying capacity of the land, He Finishes moves away from Strives With God to the hill country of Seir. He has descendants who became known as the Edomites. Some genealogical details are provided but these are neither entertaining or instructive.
Jesse
Jesse Lou Bagget, our superannuated Carpathian Shepherd, hates thunderstorms. This has not been his year. We have had more and more violent thunderstorms this year than I have ever experienced (except in the Tampa area). Consequently, I have had to endure Jesse's pitiable but unremediable discomfort. If it's overnight, I get little sleep because he keeps trying to hide in ridiculously small spaces and makes a mess of things and a huge racket to boot. Jasper the Salopian Terrier is oblivious to the storms.
I would like to get some doggie downers, but I'm afraid that Jesse might be too frail for them. Maybe I'll just lock him out of the bedroom. It's not as if I can console him or anything. Poor old guy. He'd probably piss on stuff if I lock him out. That's how he rolls.
Lately, and I suspect his loss of balance is the cause, Jesse has been pooping while he walks instead of stopping and depositing a pile. Seriously, turds just fly out of his ass, and you have to be careful if you're walking behind him. Sometimes, I think he doesn't even know he's pooping. I find small turds here and there around the house. Fortunately, Jesse's poop is almost always well formed and in small quantities. Jasper, on the other hand, lays cable. It looks as if a dinosaur has taken a crap.
When you live with dogs, you get used to the occasional bodily excretion on the floor. When you get up in the night to pee, you pray that what you stepped in is vomit. Vomit is the least objectional of the canine ejecta. Jesse likes to vomit on the shelves of book cases for some reason, but he rarely vomits. Jasper vomits when his pancreatitits to which he is prone flares up. I had some beagles who seemed to vomit just for the hell of it.
It's hard to see the dogs get old.
I would like to get some doggie downers, but I'm afraid that Jesse might be too frail for them. Maybe I'll just lock him out of the bedroom. It's not as if I can console him or anything. Poor old guy. He'd probably piss on stuff if I lock him out. That's how he rolls.
Lately, and I suspect his loss of balance is the cause, Jesse has been pooping while he walks instead of stopping and depositing a pile. Seriously, turds just fly out of his ass, and you have to be careful if you're walking behind him. Sometimes, I think he doesn't even know he's pooping. I find small turds here and there around the house. Fortunately, Jesse's poop is almost always well formed and in small quantities. Jasper, on the other hand, lays cable. It looks as if a dinosaur has taken a crap.
When you live with dogs, you get used to the occasional bodily excretion on the floor. When you get up in the night to pee, you pray that what you stepped in is vomit. Vomit is the least objectional of the canine ejecta. Jesse likes to vomit on the shelves of book cases for some reason, but he rarely vomits. Jasper vomits when his pancreatitits to which he is prone flares up. I had some beagles who seemed to vomit just for the hell of it.
It's hard to see the dogs get old.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Serenity
I'm not especially apathetic, but I have learned to acquiesce in a lot of bad things because I recognize that I can't do a damned thing about them.
The state, for instance, is only going to get stronger in my lifetime. I'll never see it whither away, mainly because my conspecifics just aren't ready to govern themselves. Their hearts and minds want serious transforming, and I'll never see it until that great gettin' up mornin' bye and bye.
Right wing yahoos are here to stay, too. All I can do is keep my eyes open and be ready to take appropriate action to defend myself from them when I have to.
Bad journalism will always be with us. I just have to work around it and look for alternative sources of information.
Corporatism isn't going away any time soon. I can try to use my power as a consumer to undermine it, and that makes me feel better. Also, I can be a really shitty corporate bureaucrat and undermine the system from within.
As long as I'm married to Mrs Vache Folle, there will be an Idiot Brother in Law. Every precious jewel comes with a curse.
Biting insects will be here as long as there is blood to suck. I'll just have to use OFF.
Despite all these bad things and more, I take pleasure in cultivating my garden and living as mindfully as I am able. Also, there's alcohol and Xanax.
The state, for instance, is only going to get stronger in my lifetime. I'll never see it whither away, mainly because my conspecifics just aren't ready to govern themselves. Their hearts and minds want serious transforming, and I'll never see it until that great gettin' up mornin' bye and bye.
Right wing yahoos are here to stay, too. All I can do is keep my eyes open and be ready to take appropriate action to defend myself from them when I have to.
Bad journalism will always be with us. I just have to work around it and look for alternative sources of information.
Corporatism isn't going away any time soon. I can try to use my power as a consumer to undermine it, and that makes me feel better. Also, I can be a really shitty corporate bureaucrat and undermine the system from within.
As long as I'm married to Mrs Vache Folle, there will be an Idiot Brother in Law. Every precious jewel comes with a curse.
Biting insects will be here as long as there is blood to suck. I'll just have to use OFF.
Despite all these bad things and more, I take pleasure in cultivating my garden and living as mindfully as I am able. Also, there's alcohol and Xanax.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Happy Days are Almost Here Again
The recession may be ending, or so I am told by folks on the radio and the TeeVee. I figured this was the case, because my consumer spending has been way up, and I'm one of the leading economic indicators. As I go, so goes the economy. When I got laid off a couple of years ago, we went into retrenchment mode, then our home equity disappeared almost overnight and our 401(k)s shriveled up. Now, we're thinking prospects are looking up, and we're buying stuff. And we didn't need a government stimulus to get us going, although the fact that GOP bozos aren't in charge has had a lot to do with our rising confidence levels. The stimulus package probably helped even if by way of an economic placebo affect.
My home equity is still not going back up, and I've stopped looking at my 401(k), so I don't yet feel as wealthy as I once did. Houses still aren't moving quickly, and there's a glut of McMansions in the area where we live. But values aren't falling like they were, and it looks as if home values may have been corrected and are now stable. We're lucky in that our house is still worth more than what we paid for it almost 6 years ago.
Let's just hope neither of us gets sick.
My home equity is still not going back up, and I've stopped looking at my 401(k), so I don't yet feel as wealthy as I once did. Houses still aren't moving quickly, and there's a glut of McMansions in the area where we live. But values aren't falling like they were, and it looks as if home values may have been corrected and are now stable. We're lucky in that our house is still worth more than what we paid for it almost 6 years ago.
Let's just hope neither of us gets sick.
Public and Private Coexist
The American University, mine and Mrs Vache Folle's alma mater, is doing very well in competition with the University of the District of Columbia and the University of Maryland, two nearby public options. TAU is a private entity that competes head to head with public entities for students and faculty, and I haven't heard anyone argue that public colleges will drive private colleges out of business.
FedEx and UPS don't seem to be much put out by the existence of the United States Postal Service.
Public and private hospitals coexist in many communities as do public and private golf courses and other recreational facilities.
Public housing exists right alongside private apartments.
The MTA runs trains and buses in competition with private cabs and limos.
Why couldn't a public health insurance option coexist with private health insurance? Is it because we don't want people to have too many choices?
FedEx and UPS don't seem to be much put out by the existence of the United States Postal Service.
Public and private hospitals coexist in many communities as do public and private golf courses and other recreational facilities.
Public housing exists right alongside private apartments.
The MTA runs trains and buses in competition with private cabs and limos.
Why couldn't a public health insurance option coexist with private health insurance? Is it because we don't want people to have too many choices?
Monday, August 17, 2009
The End of the Wire
We watched the last episode of The Wire last night. I feel a lot like the way I felt when I finished the last Patrick O'Brian novel. I'm devastated that it's over. The Wire was one of the best series ever. I don't usually care for cop shows, but that's because they're so incredibly unlike what it's like in real police departments and prosecutors' offices. The Wire, on the other hand, captured all the politics and bureaucracy and diverse agendas of the players through well developed characters who lived them.
I didn't catch The Wire when it first came out. I saw it on HBO on Demand when it became available. I learned about it from Barack Obama who cited it as a show he liked. Mr Obama, you are a man of taste, and I thank you for the recommendation.
I hear that the creator of The Wire has a new series to come out next year about New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. I will be watching.
HBO has it going on when it comes to original series.
I didn't catch The Wire when it first came out. I saw it on HBO on Demand when it became available. I learned about it from Barack Obama who cited it as a show he liked. Mr Obama, you are a man of taste, and I thank you for the recommendation.
I hear that the creator of The Wire has a new series to come out next year about New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. I will be watching.
HBO has it going on when it comes to original series.
Nephews Visit Again
Mrs Vache Folle's nephews visited again this weekend, this time without their paternal ancestors. It was fun. We had our traditional seafood feast on Friday evening with clams, jumbo shrimp on skewers, oysters and swordfish, all on the grill. The boys made salads from the garden. A good time was had by all.
On Saturday, I got to take the boys to Splashdown Beach, a small water park ten minutes away over in Wappingers. It was a perfect day, hot and sunny, for splashing around in the wave pool and floating on the lazy river. I avoided the scary water slides as beneath my dignity, but the kids did them all plus the arcade and the boardwalk games. That night we went to Tokaharu in Hopewell Junction and ate sushi and sashimi (two boats plus two orders of udon) until we were in pain.
On Sunday, their mother came to get them, and we all had salmon and garden salads for lunch.
Those kids can eat. Fortunately, they can also help with the cooking. Their mother is a chef, and she has taught them a lot. They're also very adventurous eaters.
I also put them to work on Friday with mowing and weed whacking and hunting for dog poop so they'd have some spending money at the water park.
On Saturday, I got to take the boys to Splashdown Beach, a small water park ten minutes away over in Wappingers. It was a perfect day, hot and sunny, for splashing around in the wave pool and floating on the lazy river. I avoided the scary water slides as beneath my dignity, but the kids did them all plus the arcade and the boardwalk games. That night we went to Tokaharu in Hopewell Junction and ate sushi and sashimi (two boats plus two orders of udon) until we were in pain.
On Sunday, their mother came to get them, and we all had salmon and garden salads for lunch.
Those kids can eat. Fortunately, they can also help with the cooking. Their mother is a chef, and she has taught them a lot. They're also very adventurous eaters.
I also put them to work on Friday with mowing and weed whacking and hunting for dog poop so they'd have some spending money at the water park.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Good Thing Bush Built those FEMA Camps
My conspecifics at the office told me over lunch that they had heard that a bunch of right wing militias were forming to overthrow the government. That's all we need.
This would be treason, right? Wouldn't the use of violence or threats of violence by non-state actors for political purposes constitute domestic terrorism? Those FEMA camps are going to come in real handy.
This would be treason, right? Wouldn't the use of violence or threats of violence by non-state actors for political purposes constitute domestic terrorism? Those FEMA camps are going to come in real handy.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Mowing
A couple of years ago, I decided to do all my own mowing and weed whacking to get exercise and save money. Usually, mowing and weed whacking are pretty manageable since most of the summer is dry and the yard wants mowing only every other week or so. I have over an acre and a half in mowable area. Not so in 2009. It has rained almost every day, and the yard has wanted mowing twice a week at times. Given that the grass hs been wet much of the time or that it has been raining, the opportunities to mow have been restricted. I have had to become an obsessive mower in such dribs and drabs as nature has offered me. I have been beating the shit out of my mowers as they were not made for cutting wet grass. If I had a mowing service, though, I'd be broke since it runs about $75 a pop to cut the grass.
Nevertheless, I still like to mow. I always have. I know not why. Maybe it's a Zen thing. When I'm mowing, I'm just mowing and nothing else.
I've been following the rules of organic lawn care in that I don't care if there are weeds in the yard. I'm not interested in monoculture. I just want some greenish ground cover. Also, I cut the grass and weeds at about three inches and mulch the clippings back into the yard. See, I'm being organic, not lazy or anything. Anyway, it saves money and effort, and I'm not polluting the environment with herbicides or chemical fertilizers.
I started a compost heap. I'm pretty good at throwing crap on it but not so great at turning it. Hell, I'm going to turn it right now while I'm thinking about it. Or not.
Nevertheless, I still like to mow. I always have. I know not why. Maybe it's a Zen thing. When I'm mowing, I'm just mowing and nothing else.
I've been following the rules of organic lawn care in that I don't care if there are weeds in the yard. I'm not interested in monoculture. I just want some greenish ground cover. Also, I cut the grass and weeds at about three inches and mulch the clippings back into the yard. See, I'm being organic, not lazy or anything. Anyway, it saves money and effort, and I'm not polluting the environment with herbicides or chemical fertilizers.
I started a compost heap. I'm pretty good at throwing crap on it but not so great at turning it. Hell, I'm going to turn it right now while I'm thinking about it. Or not.
Death Panels?
What the hell is up with the wingnuts and their "death panels"? Project much? They fear "death panels" because that's what they'd do if they had the power.
As for the provision in the health care bill about end of life services, I say BFT. Hospice has been a great comfort to some of my kin and acquaintances, and we could all use some help with dealing with the issues surrounding the end of our lives and the lives of our loved ones.
As for the provision in the health care bill about end of life services, I say BFT. Hospice has been a great comfort to some of my kin and acquaintances, and we could all use some help with dealing with the issues surrounding the end of our lives and the lives of our loved ones.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Return of IBIL
Idiot Brother in Law visited over the weekend with his kids and stepfather. The kids and stepfather were ok, but IBIL was insufferable. He's an unmitigated douchenozzle, even when sober(which to his credit he appears to have been for over two years now). He makes claims to being libertarian of the vulgar subspecies but he's actually an authoritarian. His primary outward expression is resentment and bitterness, but underneath it all is fear. I'd hate to be him and sober.
It's a wonder how his sister, born of the same parents and raised in the same household, could be so different. His kids don't manifest any of his deficiencies, either. At least not yet. His incredible laziness keeps him from expending much effort in transmitting them.
I wish there was some way to describe this person. Perhaps some examples of his utterances would suffice. "I want to teach my sons to kill and gut a deer." How many times has IBIL done either of these things? Never and never. "I prefer minor league baseball." How many minor league games had IBIL attended or listened to on the radio at the time of the utterance? None. "I'm a tax payer, not a tax parasite." This utterance was made when IBIL had a sinecure with the county government and when he paid zero federal taxes due to exemptions for his children.
Anyway, it was exhausting to be around such a toxic individual.
It's a wonder how his sister, born of the same parents and raised in the same household, could be so different. His kids don't manifest any of his deficiencies, either. At least not yet. His incredible laziness keeps him from expending much effort in transmitting them.
I wish there was some way to describe this person. Perhaps some examples of his utterances would suffice. "I want to teach my sons to kill and gut a deer." How many times has IBIL done either of these things? Never and never. "I prefer minor league baseball." How many minor league games had IBIL attended or listened to on the radio at the time of the utterance? None. "I'm a tax payer, not a tax parasite." This utterance was made when IBIL had a sinecure with the county government and when he paid zero federal taxes due to exemptions for his children.
Anyway, it was exhausting to be around such a toxic individual.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Globalization Killed the Dinosaurs
I caught an interesting program on one of the science channels about what killed the dinosaurs. Apparently, the asteroid that smashed into the earth at the end of the Cretaceous came at the tail end of on an already full on mass extinction. The theory is that continental drift brought the formerly separate continents together, that critters (especially large dinosaurs) migrated into new continents, that this messed with the ecosystems, and that contact between animals from different continents spread diseases to which the animals lacked immunity.
This sounds like a pretty good argument against unchecked globalization.
This sounds like a pretty good argument against unchecked globalization.
Wherein I Spin My Ineptitude as Virtue
My lack of handiness is abundantly manifest this week and the last.
The sump pump pretty much gave up after continuous operation for months on end, so I had to get some pump guys in to replace it. "Did you install this yourself? they asked. Were they kidding?
One of the wind gusts we've been having torqued the crap out of a big branch on the weeping willow tree out front. It's about 20 feet up, so I'd have to get pretty liquored up to get up on a ladder with a chain saw and take the branch off myself. I called an "arborist" instead, and he'll be by on Friday.
Tomorrow, the septic tank gets pumped. That's just routine maintenance as there's nothing wrong with the tank. I don't feel too bad about not having septic tank pumping know how and equipment.
Yesterday, I had an electrician over because I can't get the kitchen light to work. I was so embarrassed about it being such a small job that I thought up a few other things for the guy to do. Turns out the fixture is defective, so it wasn't my ignorance and ineptitude at work. I asked him to get me a new light as part of the job.
The Culligan man is also coming tomorrow to fix the leaking water purifier.
I engaged a handyman to do a bunch of jobs around the place, but he never came back after replacing the mailbox.
I reckon I'm doing my part for the economy by leaving stuff to the pros. It's the duty of every American who can afford it to hire as many tradesmen and service people as they can. We pay our neighbors to babysit our dogs and clean our house, and I would have a lawn guy if I didn't depend on mowing to get exercise.
The sump pump pretty much gave up after continuous operation for months on end, so I had to get some pump guys in to replace it. "Did you install this yourself? they asked. Were they kidding?
One of the wind gusts we've been having torqued the crap out of a big branch on the weeping willow tree out front. It's about 20 feet up, so I'd have to get pretty liquored up to get up on a ladder with a chain saw and take the branch off myself. I called an "arborist" instead, and he'll be by on Friday.
Tomorrow, the septic tank gets pumped. That's just routine maintenance as there's nothing wrong with the tank. I don't feel too bad about not having septic tank pumping know how and equipment.
Yesterday, I had an electrician over because I can't get the kitchen light to work. I was so embarrassed about it being such a small job that I thought up a few other things for the guy to do. Turns out the fixture is defective, so it wasn't my ignorance and ineptitude at work. I asked him to get me a new light as part of the job.
The Culligan man is also coming tomorrow to fix the leaking water purifier.
I engaged a handyman to do a bunch of jobs around the place, but he never came back after replacing the mailbox.
I reckon I'm doing my part for the economy by leaving stuff to the pros. It's the duty of every American who can afford it to hire as many tradesmen and service people as they can. We pay our neighbors to babysit our dogs and clean our house, and I would have a lawn guy if I didn't depend on mowing to get exercise.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Miracle Whip Will Not Tone it Down. I Mean, How Could It?
Hat tip to brand freak (http://www.brandfreak.com/2009/05/miracle-whip-will-not-just-sit-there-quietly-like-that-pathetic-mayo.html) for this image. Also, he has interesting commentary on this jaw dropping ad campaign.
Apparently, Miracle Whip is hip now, or that's the way it's being marketed. We ate Miracle Whip when I was a kid because it was cheaper than mayo and we were poor. Now I can afford mayo. End of story.
What's next? "This is not your father's SPAM!" or We're Velveeta! What are you looking at!?!"
Keep Brown Shirts Under Surveillance
When the Brown Shirts show up to disrupt town hall meetings (http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/rachel-maddow-gop-thugishness-town-halls-called), progressives shouldn't just take it on the chin. They should assign security personnel to take pictures of the Brown Shirts and record them and figure out who they are. Each Brown Shirt so identified could be assigned to a handler who would follow the individual's activities on the web, etc and post about them so it would be clear that the Brown Shirt Movement is orchestrated by right wing interest groups. The network of Brown Shirts and their leadership could then be exposed. This would help to nip things in the bud if the Brown Shirts decide to escalate matters into outright domestic terrorism, which they very well might.
The FBI ought to be doing this if it is going to be worthy of the name of secret police, but until they do progressives can take steps to protect themselves and the country from these crazies.
The FBI ought to be doing this if it is going to be worthy of the name of secret police, but until they do progressives can take steps to protect themselves and the country from these crazies.
Monday, August 03, 2009
FAQs or Life's Too Short to Read This Blog
Why should anyone read this blog? I can't think of a good reason.
Why would anyone read this blog? They (1) are married to me and are monitoring my mental health; (2) take pity on me; (3) know I read their blog and feel obliged to check in; (4) realize I am awesome and that I will one day come forth with a nugget of wisdom that will change their lives; (5) secretly agree with me and want validation for our beliefs; (6) are government spies.
Why do you keep blogging when it is obvious that your readership hovers between zero and three? It's not about my readership. It's all about me. My blog is not "monetized", because it would not bring me money. My blog is a means of self expression that I don't have in the real world. Nobody cares about my opinions in the real world (except professional ones, if that). In the blogosphere, I get to put my views out there whether anybody reads them or not. It's therapeutic.
Why don't you comment more on other blogs that you read all the time? If you are a reader of this blog, you will know that I rarely have anything intelligent to say and that words of encouragement from me mean next to nothing.
Why don't you find a schtick and run with it? That smacks of effort.
Why don't you have more pictures? I don't know. Maybe it's the effort thing again.
Why don't you have a picture of yourself in your profile? I am so full of self loathing that I rarely permit my picture to be taken. When I do, I am disappointed that they look like me instead of my image of me as an attractive person.
Why are you so inconsistent in your opinions? Am I? Could I be evolving?
Since most of your posts are inane, why don't you make them shorter? Good point.
Have you ever held back on a blog post for fear of retribution? Yes. Crazy, huh?
Have you ever blogged drunk? Does now count?
Why would anyone read this blog? They (1) are married to me and are monitoring my mental health; (2) take pity on me; (3) know I read their blog and feel obliged to check in; (4) realize I am awesome and that I will one day come forth with a nugget of wisdom that will change their lives; (5) secretly agree with me and want validation for our beliefs; (6) are government spies.
Why do you keep blogging when it is obvious that your readership hovers between zero and three? It's not about my readership. It's all about me. My blog is not "monetized", because it would not bring me money. My blog is a means of self expression that I don't have in the real world. Nobody cares about my opinions in the real world (except professional ones, if that). In the blogosphere, I get to put my views out there whether anybody reads them or not. It's therapeutic.
Why don't you comment more on other blogs that you read all the time? If you are a reader of this blog, you will know that I rarely have anything intelligent to say and that words of encouragement from me mean next to nothing.
Why don't you find a schtick and run with it? That smacks of effort.
Why don't you have more pictures? I don't know. Maybe it's the effort thing again.
Why don't you have a picture of yourself in your profile? I am so full of self loathing that I rarely permit my picture to be taken. When I do, I am disappointed that they look like me instead of my image of me as an attractive person.
Why are you so inconsistent in your opinions? Am I? Could I be evolving?
Since most of your posts are inane, why don't you make them shorter? Good point.
Have you ever held back on a blog post for fear of retribution? Yes. Crazy, huh?
Have you ever blogged drunk? Does now count?
Working Without Empathy
Sometimes, when you have enough information about a situation and a person, and if you are reasonably empathetic, you can usually get a pretty good idea about other people's motivations and the needs and concerns that inform their positions. That's how it works for me, at least. If, on the other hand, you are empathically challenged or have insufficient data on which to decide or just can't be bothered to find stuff out, there are some shortcuts.
1. Use defaults such as the one I employ: "Never attribute to evil anything that can be adequately explained by stupidity." This does not apply to GOP pundits or politicians, of course, or to anyone else who has repeatedly overriden the default. Or you might assume ignorance rather than deceitfulness until it becomes apparent that facts don't matter. These defaults work because people are, in fact, more likley to be stupid or ignorant or both than to be outright evil or deceitful. Also, if you are wrong, the error probably won't hurt you as mush as if you assumed evil and deceitfulness when in fact you were dealing with stupidity and ignorance. It's hard to back down from attributions of evil and deceitfulness. "I'm sorry I thought you were evil and deceitful when all along you were just stupid or ignorant."
2. If you are a social retard, do what all social retards do and project your own motives onto others. This won't help you figure anyone else out, but it will let the rest of us know where you're coming from.
3. Pretend that the other person is completely rational and assume that he or she desires all the consequences of their positions or ideas or actions. If Donald Rumsfeld went into Iraq with inadequate forces, it must have been because he intended for there to be security problems after the invasion. That way, the war could be extended indefinitely so as to bolster the administration's use of a war footing to justify all kinds of shit. There was never any intention to end the war and to leave Iraq secure. See what an interesting result you get? That's way more interesting than figuring that Rumsfeld was a big dummy. We all know he wasn't, but that's how he had to play it when folks started to figure out what was going on. What could he say? "I'm not incompetent; I'm evil!"
4. Pretend that the other person is a zombie without self awareness. This works for the religious right, birther types, and Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity/other wingnut viewers/listeners. There's really no point in trying to fathom their motives. Why does a sheep go ths way or that way? Ask the shepherd. Just go to their leaders' motives.
5. In the case of journalists (real ones, not FOX, in which case see #4), assume that you are dealing with someone really lazy with a cheap boss. Why is he reporting on this mindless drivel? Why is he regurgitating press releases? He's lazy, and he isn't supposed to spend time and money digging into stories.
These can be real time savers.
1. Use defaults such as the one I employ: "Never attribute to evil anything that can be adequately explained by stupidity." This does not apply to GOP pundits or politicians, of course, or to anyone else who has repeatedly overriden the default. Or you might assume ignorance rather than deceitfulness until it becomes apparent that facts don't matter. These defaults work because people are, in fact, more likley to be stupid or ignorant or both than to be outright evil or deceitful. Also, if you are wrong, the error probably won't hurt you as mush as if you assumed evil and deceitfulness when in fact you were dealing with stupidity and ignorance. It's hard to back down from attributions of evil and deceitfulness. "I'm sorry I thought you were evil and deceitful when all along you were just stupid or ignorant."
2. If you are a social retard, do what all social retards do and project your own motives onto others. This won't help you figure anyone else out, but it will let the rest of us know where you're coming from.
3. Pretend that the other person is completely rational and assume that he or she desires all the consequences of their positions or ideas or actions. If Donald Rumsfeld went into Iraq with inadequate forces, it must have been because he intended for there to be security problems after the invasion. That way, the war could be extended indefinitely so as to bolster the administration's use of a war footing to justify all kinds of shit. There was never any intention to end the war and to leave Iraq secure. See what an interesting result you get? That's way more interesting than figuring that Rumsfeld was a big dummy. We all know he wasn't, but that's how he had to play it when folks started to figure out what was going on. What could he say? "I'm not incompetent; I'm evil!"
4. Pretend that the other person is a zombie without self awareness. This works for the religious right, birther types, and Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity/other wingnut viewers/listeners. There's really no point in trying to fathom their motives. Why does a sheep go ths way or that way? Ask the shepherd. Just go to their leaders' motives.
5. In the case of journalists (real ones, not FOX, in which case see #4), assume that you are dealing with someone really lazy with a cheap boss. Why is he reporting on this mindless drivel? Why is he regurgitating press releases? He's lazy, and he isn't supposed to spend time and money digging into stories.
These can be real time savers.
Cops Suck
I had an interesting conversation with some of my conspecifics the other day about police misconduct and my view that policing has become increasingly militaristic and hostile. To my surprise, my ally in the discussion was the right wing gun nut. On the other side were several white women 40-60 years of age who reckoned that there were a few bad cops here and there but all and all the police are our friends. I asked one of them "What's the difference between three policemen and three armed muggers?" "I don't know, what?" she replied. "I don't know, either" was the punchline. Ha, ha, ha. Pretty good for an extemporaneous joke, if I say so myself.
I don't reckon any of these ladies has ever had a run in with the police. One of them allowed as how she had seen policemen who were lazy or indifferent or cowardly in the face of a crime, but she had never experienced police oppression. I hope she doesn't get tased.
The best cops are the lazy and indifferent ones, as far as I am concerned. I refer to these as the "good" cops". The active ones are troublemakers who are most likely to get someone killed or maimed. I can't stand those guys.
There are very few cops who follow the model of community policing, who know their beat and the people who live there and who deter crime through their awareness and presence. These guys have lots of informants and helpers in the community because they are trusted. These guys can't get ahead in police departments because they don't put up the numbers. The kind of people recruited by police departments nowadays couldn't follow this model if they tried. They don't have the brainpower or people skills.
I don't reckon any of these ladies has ever had a run in with the police. One of them allowed as how she had seen policemen who were lazy or indifferent or cowardly in the face of a crime, but she had never experienced police oppression. I hope she doesn't get tased.
The best cops are the lazy and indifferent ones, as far as I am concerned. I refer to these as the "good" cops". The active ones are troublemakers who are most likely to get someone killed or maimed. I can't stand those guys.
There are very few cops who follow the model of community policing, who know their beat and the people who live there and who deter crime through their awareness and presence. These guys have lots of informants and helpers in the community because they are trusted. These guys can't get ahead in police departments because they don't put up the numbers. The kind of people recruited by police departments nowadays couldn't follow this model if they tried. They don't have the brainpower or people skills.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Get a Clue, Whitey!
Apart from the small contribution of my sixth generation ancestress Polly Red Bird of the Cherokee, my genes come from Northern Europe. Moreover, I have grey eyes and a pallid complexion. I do not tan; I burn. In short, I am pretty much white. I might even qualify as a WASP if it weren't for all the Scots-Irish in my background.
Because I am white, I don't really ever have to think about race. If I were an ignorant wanker, I might even be tempted to declare that I live in a post-racial America. I'm not an ignorant wanker; therefore, I know better than to make such an assertion. I enjoy a lot of privileges by virtue of my race, and I am lucky enough to be aware of it on some level.
Many of my fellow whities are deluded into thinking that discrimination and racism are long behind us. They don't see it every day, mainly because their contact with other races is sporadic at best, so it must not exist. They themselves do not overtly discriminate, or so they believe, so where is all this discrimination of which black folks complain? Theythinks black folks protest too much. Theythinks wrong, methinks.
I have had the good fortune, if I may call it that, of observing segregation and overt racism first hand as a Son o' the South. I grew up in a working class family and was not sheltered from the realities of race relations. I was trained to be a racist, one of the patronizing and condescending sort, but a racist nonetheless. I have had to acknowledge that indoctrination and to apply reason to it every day of my life in order to live my conscious moral stand against racism. It gets easier every year, but the indoctrination is still there in my brain waiting to make me say or do something stupid and irrational.
For black folks, race is an aspect of reality that they have to negotiate carefully. They can't afford to be "color blind" as the clueless and the deceitful would have them be. Being color blind might get them killed. Black folks' recognition of the significance of race is not racism; it's the survival instinct at work. They didn't make the rules of racism; they just have to know what they are.
I urge my fellow whities to get a clue or, if they are among the deceitful racist bastards, to search their souls and repent. If it bothers you that you can't say "nigger", then you are one of the folks I'm talking to. If you reckon you live in a post-racial America, I'm talking to you. Who am I kidding? I'm talking to almost every white person.
Because I am white, I don't really ever have to think about race. If I were an ignorant wanker, I might even be tempted to declare that I live in a post-racial America. I'm not an ignorant wanker; therefore, I know better than to make such an assertion. I enjoy a lot of privileges by virtue of my race, and I am lucky enough to be aware of it on some level.
Many of my fellow whities are deluded into thinking that discrimination and racism are long behind us. They don't see it every day, mainly because their contact with other races is sporadic at best, so it must not exist. They themselves do not overtly discriminate, or so they believe, so where is all this discrimination of which black folks complain? Theythinks black folks protest too much. Theythinks wrong, methinks.
I have had the good fortune, if I may call it that, of observing segregation and overt racism first hand as a Son o' the South. I grew up in a working class family and was not sheltered from the realities of race relations. I was trained to be a racist, one of the patronizing and condescending sort, but a racist nonetheless. I have had to acknowledge that indoctrination and to apply reason to it every day of my life in order to live my conscious moral stand against racism. It gets easier every year, but the indoctrination is still there in my brain waiting to make me say or do something stupid and irrational.
For black folks, race is an aspect of reality that they have to negotiate carefully. They can't afford to be "color blind" as the clueless and the deceitful would have them be. Being color blind might get them killed. Black folks' recognition of the significance of race is not racism; it's the survival instinct at work. They didn't make the rules of racism; they just have to know what they are.
I urge my fellow whities to get a clue or, if they are among the deceitful racist bastards, to search their souls and repent. If it bothers you that you can't say "nigger", then you are one of the folks I'm talking to. If you reckon you live in a post-racial America, I'm talking to you. Who am I kidding? I'm talking to almost every white person.
More Genesis: Further Adventures of Supplanter
Supplanter works for his uncle for 20 years: 7 for Leah, 7 for Rachel, and 6 in his creative livestock breeding program. Supplanter's cousins/brothers-in-law start to get wise and to grumble, so Supplanter sneaks off with his wives, children, servants and stock. Ewe steals her old man's household idols and hides them in her camel pack.
Supplanter's uncle pursues him but is warned off in a dream by God. He searches Supplanter's stuff for his gods, but Ewe is sitting on them and claims to be menstruating, so nobody looks in her camel pack. In the end, Supplanter and his uncle set up a pillar and swear never to cross its spot to to do harm to one another.
Supplanter sens word to his brother He Finishes that he is coming home, and he is anxious when he learns that He Finishes is coming to meet him with 400 men. So he picks out some droves of livestock and sends them in stages to his brother as gifts in order to win favor with him. Then he sends on his family and entourage.
When Supplanter is alone, a man wrestles with him all night and dislocates the socket of his thigh. Still, Supplanter won't let the man go until he gets the man's blessing. The man, it turns out, is God Himself, and He renames Supplanter Strives With God. ( In honor of this event, the descendants of Strives With God eschew eating the sinew of the socket of the thigh.)
The meeting with He Finishes turns out well, as He Finishes welcomes and embraces Supplanter and his family. He Finishes returns home with his people, and Supplanter sojourns for a while in Shechem. The son of the prince of Shechem takes a fancy to one of Strives With God's daughters and rapes her. He begs for her to be given to him as his wife, but the sons of Strives With God, as deceitful as their old man, agree only on the condition that all the males of Shechem be circumcised, which they do. When they are all convalescing, two of Strives With Gods sons kill every male of Schechem, and the rest of the sons loot the city.
Now Strives With God is pissed at his sons for making him odious and subjecting the household to attacks from stronger neighbors. They've got to move.
Supplanter's uncle pursues him but is warned off in a dream by God. He searches Supplanter's stuff for his gods, but Ewe is sitting on them and claims to be menstruating, so nobody looks in her camel pack. In the end, Supplanter and his uncle set up a pillar and swear never to cross its spot to to do harm to one another.
Supplanter sens word to his brother He Finishes that he is coming home, and he is anxious when he learns that He Finishes is coming to meet him with 400 men. So he picks out some droves of livestock and sends them in stages to his brother as gifts in order to win favor with him. Then he sends on his family and entourage.
When Supplanter is alone, a man wrestles with him all night and dislocates the socket of his thigh. Still, Supplanter won't let the man go until he gets the man's blessing. The man, it turns out, is God Himself, and He renames Supplanter Strives With God. ( In honor of this event, the descendants of Strives With God eschew eating the sinew of the socket of the thigh.)
The meeting with He Finishes turns out well, as He Finishes welcomes and embraces Supplanter and his family. He Finishes returns home with his people, and Supplanter sojourns for a while in Shechem. The son of the prince of Shechem takes a fancy to one of Strives With God's daughters and rapes her. He begs for her to be given to him as his wife, but the sons of Strives With God, as deceitful as their old man, agree only on the condition that all the males of Shechem be circumcised, which they do. When they are all convalescing, two of Strives With Gods sons kill every male of Schechem, and the rest of the sons loot the city.
Now Strives With God is pissed at his sons for making him odious and subjecting the household to attacks from stronger neighbors. They've got to move.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Obvious Observations
Some right wing nutjobs are trying to scare old people about health care reform by claiming that the health care reform bill provides for killing old people. It doesn't provide for that at all. Last I checked old folks get Medicare, and it pays for life extending medicines and procedures, even when they don't necessarily make any sense.
What does the Constitution mean when it requires the president to be a "natural born citizen" of the US? The first several presidents were born before the US even existed, so they weren't born citizens of the US. On the contrary, they were subjects of Great Britain. John McCain was born in Panama, and nobody gave that a second thought. George Romney was born in Mexico and was not disqualified to run for president. My opinion is that if you are entitled to US citizenship at birth you are a natural born citizen no matter where you are born. Who really cares anyway?
I reckon it's up to NFL teams whether to hire Michael Vick or not. I don't care one way or the other.
Pete Rose's banning from baseball has gone on long enough. He's a Hall of Famer in my book no matter what Bud Selig or the folks in Cooperstown say. My father looks almost exactly like Pete Rose. It's uncanny.
What does the Constitution mean when it requires the president to be a "natural born citizen" of the US? The first several presidents were born before the US even existed, so they weren't born citizens of the US. On the contrary, they were subjects of Great Britain. John McCain was born in Panama, and nobody gave that a second thought. George Romney was born in Mexico and was not disqualified to run for president. My opinion is that if you are entitled to US citizenship at birth you are a natural born citizen no matter where you are born. Who really cares anyway?
I reckon it's up to NFL teams whether to hire Michael Vick or not. I don't care one way or the other.
Pete Rose's banning from baseball has gone on long enough. He's a Hall of Famer in my book no matter what Bud Selig or the folks in Cooperstown say. My father looks almost exactly like Pete Rose. It's uncanny.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Just So Stories
The lads who were born to Supplanter, we discover later, bear the names of the tribes of the nation of Israel. The story of their births and their naming remind me of a Kipling "Just So" Story. You know, the ones that end with "and that's how the elephant got its trunk" and such like. And that's how the tribe of Exaltation got its name.
Whether these men were all sons of Supplanter or even existed at all is not particularly important. What signifies is that the story is later used to place the disparate tribes into a single superfamily. Just as patrilines are segments of clans and clans are segments of tribes, so the tribes are segments of a nation. All the groupings beyond the individual are predicated on the principle of patrilineal kinship. The tribes are probably related in some way, but the the accuracy of the genealogies is less important than the reliance on them as the predicate for a set of obligations and expectations associated with the kinship meme complex.
Now this concept of nation is quite different to what we nowadays think of as the modern nation-state. It is the family writ large. It is not necessarily a stable entity as loyalty to the progressively smaller segments and individual interests will tend to outweigh loyalty to the most distant and abstract of the groupings. Therefore, the concept of the nation must be reproduced continually and reinforced with myth. God is called upon to add the imprimatur of divine legitimacy to the idea.
Of course, some kindred groups are excluded from the nation, and the myths have to account for this. Otherwise, the progeny of the displaced first born sons would have to be included in the covenantal nation. I don't know why the mythmakers didn't just make their ancestors the first born. Perhaps it was deemed especially important for well being to leave the door open to exceptions to primogeniture or even to problematize the concept of primogeniture.
What we have in Genesis, I reckon, is propaganda to support the idea of a nation and conquest of a territory. Whether God promised anyone that the nation would rule the territory in question is beside the point. It came to pass that the territory was conquered and occupied by the putative descendants of Father of Multitudes. Hence, it was surely the will of God whether or not the nation knew what the will of God was in advance. The narrative, as it came to be written down, was for the purpose of reproducing the concept of the nation rather than offering what we would today consider history.
Whether these men were all sons of Supplanter or even existed at all is not particularly important. What signifies is that the story is later used to place the disparate tribes into a single superfamily. Just as patrilines are segments of clans and clans are segments of tribes, so the tribes are segments of a nation. All the groupings beyond the individual are predicated on the principle of patrilineal kinship. The tribes are probably related in some way, but the the accuracy of the genealogies is less important than the reliance on them as the predicate for a set of obligations and expectations associated with the kinship meme complex.
Now this concept of nation is quite different to what we nowadays think of as the modern nation-state. It is the family writ large. It is not necessarily a stable entity as loyalty to the progressively smaller segments and individual interests will tend to outweigh loyalty to the most distant and abstract of the groupings. Therefore, the concept of the nation must be reproduced continually and reinforced with myth. God is called upon to add the imprimatur of divine legitimacy to the idea.
Of course, some kindred groups are excluded from the nation, and the myths have to account for this. Otherwise, the progeny of the displaced first born sons would have to be included in the covenantal nation. I don't know why the mythmakers didn't just make their ancestors the first born. Perhaps it was deemed especially important for well being to leave the door open to exceptions to primogeniture or even to problematize the concept of primogeniture.
What we have in Genesis, I reckon, is propaganda to support the idea of a nation and conquest of a territory. Whether God promised anyone that the nation would rule the territory in question is beside the point. It came to pass that the territory was conquered and occupied by the putative descendants of Father of Multitudes. Hence, it was surely the will of God whether or not the nation knew what the will of God was in advance. The narrative, as it came to be written down, was for the purpose of reproducing the concept of the nation rather than offering what we would today consider history.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Genesis 29 and 30
In Genesis 29, Supplanter gets conned by his uncle. It runs in the family, and Supplanter really should have seen it coming. After all, Supplanter was a masterful deceiver and con artist himself, a skill set he uses in chapter 30 against his uncle.
To Bind's brother had two daughters, Weary and Ewe. Weary had "weak eyes", but Ewe was beautiful. Supplanter offered to work for his uncle 7 years in exchange for the hand of Ewe. On the wedding night, the uncle substitutes Weary, and Supplanter awakes to find that he is married to Weary intead of Ewe. In exchange for the promise of another 7 years of service, the uncle permits Supplanter to marry Ewe about a week after the marriage to Weary.
Although Weary is "unloved", she is not completely ignored for she bears Supplanter four sons: Behold a Son, God Has Heard, Attached, and Praised. These names were messages from Weary to Supplanter, hints that God favored Weary by letting her bear sons while Ewe was barren.
In the face of this, Ewe resorts to giving her maid to Supplanter as a surrogate mother who begets sons He Judged and Wrestler. Not to be outdone, Weary gives her maid to Supplanter as an additional wife. Weary's maid begets sons Luck and Happy.
At some point Ewe grants Weary the right to lie with Supplanter in exchange for some mandrakes. This leads to another son Hireling. Weary's not through, though, and gives Supplanter yet another son Exaltation.
At long last God "remembers" Ewe and opens her womb so that she bears a son He Will Add.
After 11 sons and at least one daughter have been born, Supplanter expresses a desire to his uncle to return home. The uncle is reluctant because Supplanter has made him rich in livestock with his superior management skills. At last, they come to an agreement whereby Supplanter would be entitled to certain variants of the livestock. Meanwhile, since Supplanter is in still in charge of the livestock, he has some control over their breeding patterns. It is perhaps unsurprising that he arranges things so that the variants to which he is entitled become even more numerous and that Supplanter's flocks would be stronger than his uncle's. Supplanter's rudimentary knowledge of population genetics coupled with his unscrupulousness serve him well.
To Bind's brother had two daughters, Weary and Ewe. Weary had "weak eyes", but Ewe was beautiful. Supplanter offered to work for his uncle 7 years in exchange for the hand of Ewe. On the wedding night, the uncle substitutes Weary, and Supplanter awakes to find that he is married to Weary intead of Ewe. In exchange for the promise of another 7 years of service, the uncle permits Supplanter to marry Ewe about a week after the marriage to Weary.
Although Weary is "unloved", she is not completely ignored for she bears Supplanter four sons: Behold a Son, God Has Heard, Attached, and Praised. These names were messages from Weary to Supplanter, hints that God favored Weary by letting her bear sons while Ewe was barren.
In the face of this, Ewe resorts to giving her maid to Supplanter as a surrogate mother who begets sons He Judged and Wrestler. Not to be outdone, Weary gives her maid to Supplanter as an additional wife. Weary's maid begets sons Luck and Happy.
At some point Ewe grants Weary the right to lie with Supplanter in exchange for some mandrakes. This leads to another son Hireling. Weary's not through, though, and gives Supplanter yet another son Exaltation.
At long last God "remembers" Ewe and opens her womb so that she bears a son He Will Add.
After 11 sons and at least one daughter have been born, Supplanter expresses a desire to his uncle to return home. The uncle is reluctant because Supplanter has made him rich in livestock with his superior management skills. At last, they come to an agreement whereby Supplanter would be entitled to certain variants of the livestock. Meanwhile, since Supplanter is in still in charge of the livestock, he has some control over their breeding patterns. It is perhaps unsurprising that he arranges things so that the variants to which he is entitled become even more numerous and that Supplanter's flocks would be stronger than his uncle's. Supplanter's rudimentary knowledge of population genetics coupled with his unscrupulousness serve him well.
Genesis 28
In Genesis 28, He Laughs sends Supplanter off to the house of To Bind's brother to (a) take a wife from among his kinswomen, and (b) get away from He Finishes who is pissed about the theft of his blessing.
He Finishes realizes that his having married women from Canaan had displeased his father, so he aso took a wife from among the daughters of God Will Hear (Ishmael), He Laughs older half brother. I infer from this episode that He Laughs had never before admonished He Finishes about his choice of wives. Perhaps it was He Finishes's Hittite wives and the way they vexed the family that led to the family policy of intermarriage with close kin. Perhaps, He Laughs had written off He Finishes from early on and intended all along to make Supplanter his heir, in which case the marriages of He Finishes would not have mattered. In any event, the takeaway is that even a dutiful and loving son can be wronged by a father whose affections are elsewhere.
On the road to his uncle's place, Supplanter camps out, using a rock for a pillow. He dreams that there is a ladder to heaven with angels ascending and descending. In the dream, God appears at the top and extends to Supplanter the promises He had made to Father of Multitudes and He laughs: multitudes of descendants, this land will be yours, your seed will be a blessing, yadda yadda yadda. The text doesn't say that God appeared to Supplanter in a dream, only that Supplanter had a dream with God in it. Maybe it was God; maybe it was just a dream.
Supplanter wakes up and names the place House of God and makes a promise to God, to wit, If God will keep him on his journey and provide for all his material needs and bring him home safe, He will let God be is God, the stone that had been Supplanter's pillow would be God's House and Supplanter would give back a tenth of all that God would give him. No "thy will be done" tagline for Supplanter. It's do this for me God, and I'll do that. Supplanter seems to believe that he can influence God's choices with inducements. Who among us hasn't at some time or other prayed thusly as in "God, if you'll make it so I win the MegaMillions I'll give 10% of the winnings (after taxes) to the church and devote myself to good works for your glory".
Are we to infer from this story that this mode of prayer is the way to address God?
He Finishes realizes that his having married women from Canaan had displeased his father, so he aso took a wife from among the daughters of God Will Hear (Ishmael), He Laughs older half brother. I infer from this episode that He Laughs had never before admonished He Finishes about his choice of wives. Perhaps it was He Finishes's Hittite wives and the way they vexed the family that led to the family policy of intermarriage with close kin. Perhaps, He Laughs had written off He Finishes from early on and intended all along to make Supplanter his heir, in which case the marriages of He Finishes would not have mattered. In any event, the takeaway is that even a dutiful and loving son can be wronged by a father whose affections are elsewhere.
On the road to his uncle's place, Supplanter camps out, using a rock for a pillow. He dreams that there is a ladder to heaven with angels ascending and descending. In the dream, God appears at the top and extends to Supplanter the promises He had made to Father of Multitudes and He laughs: multitudes of descendants, this land will be yours, your seed will be a blessing, yadda yadda yadda. The text doesn't say that God appeared to Supplanter in a dream, only that Supplanter had a dream with God in it. Maybe it was God; maybe it was just a dream.
Supplanter wakes up and names the place House of God and makes a promise to God, to wit, If God will keep him on his journey and provide for all his material needs and bring him home safe, He will let God be is God, the stone that had been Supplanter's pillow would be God's House and Supplanter would give back a tenth of all that God would give him. No "thy will be done" tagline for Supplanter. It's do this for me God, and I'll do that. Supplanter seems to believe that he can influence God's choices with inducements. Who among us hasn't at some time or other prayed thusly as in "God, if you'll make it so I win the MegaMillions I'll give 10% of the winnings (after taxes) to the church and devote myself to good works for your glory".
Are we to infer from this story that this mode of prayer is the way to address God?
Friday, July 24, 2009
Arresting Prof Gates Was Stupid Even If It Wasn't Racial
Here's my two cents on the Henry Louis Gates arrest. It was stupid. Maybe it wasn't racial, but it was stupid. The policeman had plenty of options other than arresting the man. Cops are too damned quick to arrest people, often for no good reason other than to be douches. There was an insufficient basis for believing that a crime was being committed, and nobody was in any danger.
If I'm in my own home where I have every right to be and I end up arrested for being uppity to a cop, you can bet I'd be pretty pissed. I'd be justified. And my neighbors would back me up. Everyone would agree that the cop was stupid. It's incompetent policing, and it should be denounced.
Police treat civilians like enemenis in occupied territory, and this should not be tolerated.
If I'm in my own home where I have every right to be and I end up arrested for being uppity to a cop, you can bet I'd be pretty pissed. I'd be justified. And my neighbors would back me up. Everyone would agree that the cop was stupid. It's incompetent policing, and it should be denounced.
Police treat civilians like enemenis in occupied territory, and this should not be tolerated.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Feminization is Good
I sometimes hear people lament that men are becoming "feminized". Would that it were so. The process of feminization is the process of civilization. As the sensibilities of the elite classes, who are in a sense more feminine "gentle" folk less prone to direct personal violence, become adopted by the lower orders, civilization progresses. It's a good thing in my book for men to be more pacific in outlook and temperament and less likely to resolve issues by fighting.
Then again, my attitude toward the feminine is informed by my experience of the women in my family. They were farmers who could plow behind a mule with the best to them and who endured adversity with courage and determination. They were working women who embodied the best of womanhood. They weren't dainty,mind you, but they were ladies. They were caregivers and peacemakers and churchgoers who kept their families civilized. Those unfortunate families who lacked a woman's touch tended to wildness and disorder. The men just didn't have that civilizing something that women provided.
Nowadays, I find more and more men who have learned to be caregivers to their children and their communities, who have learned to manage conflict peacably, who have learned to love their neighbors. They've been feminized, and it looks good on them.
I reckon the whole course of cultural evolution could be characterized as the efforts of women to domesticate men.
Then again, my attitude toward the feminine is informed by my experience of the women in my family. They were farmers who could plow behind a mule with the best to them and who endured adversity with courage and determination. They were working women who embodied the best of womanhood. They weren't dainty,mind you, but they were ladies. They were caregivers and peacemakers and churchgoers who kept their families civilized. Those unfortunate families who lacked a woman's touch tended to wildness and disorder. The men just didn't have that civilizing something that women provided.
Nowadays, I find more and more men who have learned to be caregivers to their children and their communities, who have learned to manage conflict peacably, who have learned to love their neighbors. They've been feminized, and it looks good on them.
I reckon the whole course of cultural evolution could be characterized as the efforts of women to domesticate men.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Genesis 1-27: Do These Stories Matter?
Looking back on the first twenty seven chapters of Genesis, it occurs to me that these stories don't add much to our understanding of God and His agenda as they might actually exist. The God who appears to the patriarchs is very different to the God we imagine nowadays or even the God that shows up later in the Bible. The most we can glean from these stories is some insight into how one ancient nomadic tribe thought about God and how they sought to situate themselves in the cosmic narrative.
I'm not sure that I believe in the historical truth of even the most mundane of these stories, but I would concede that the progenitors of the Israelites included prosperous and reasonably successful warlords who wandered in and around Canaan and Egypt. Whether they had the particular adventures set down in these stories just doesn't matter. Asking people to believe them seems to me to be setting up a gratuitous stumbling block.
I'm not sure that I believe in the historical truth of even the most mundane of these stories, but I would concede that the progenitors of the Israelites included prosperous and reasonably successful warlords who wandered in and around Canaan and Egypt. Whether they had the particular adventures set down in these stories just doesn't matter. Asking people to believe them seems to me to be setting up a gratuitous stumbling block.
Me and Walter
Walter Cronkite, peace be unto him, was a hero of mine when I was a kid. We always watched Walter's broadcast and news specials. He had a nifty series about science after he retired. I loved how he would sign off whith "And that's the way it was...", and you knew that it really had been the way he had presented it. Nobody has ever even come close to Walter as a news anchor. I reckon nobody ever will.
I grew up in Appalachia and had a pretty thick brogue, and I knew that I would have to learn standard English to have any hope of getting out of my crappy hometown. Walter Cronkite was my model. I stood in front of a mirror for hours practicing saying things the way Walter Cronkite did. Before long, I had a pretty good mastery of standard English, and I was even able to bring my own rhythm to it rather than simply mimicking Walter and sounding like a bad Rich Little impersonation.
To this day, I can speak standard English like a native, and people are often surprised to learn that I'm a Southron. The only difficulties I have are when I'm a little drunk or tired and when I am called upon to read aloud. I don't know why reading aloud is so much harder in Standard than in South Midland. Anyway, thanks be to Walter Cronkite for helping me get the hell out of Dalton, GA.
I grew up in Appalachia and had a pretty thick brogue, and I knew that I would have to learn standard English to have any hope of getting out of my crappy hometown. Walter Cronkite was my model. I stood in front of a mirror for hours practicing saying things the way Walter Cronkite did. Before long, I had a pretty good mastery of standard English, and I was even able to bring my own rhythm to it rather than simply mimicking Walter and sounding like a bad Rich Little impersonation.
To this day, I can speak standard English like a native, and people are often surprised to learn that I'm a Southron. The only difficulties I have are when I'm a little drunk or tired and when I am called upon to read aloud. I don't know why reading aloud is so much harder in Standard than in South Midland. Anyway, thanks be to Walter Cronkite for helping me get the hell out of Dalton, GA.
Folle Family Stimulates Entertainment Industry
We went back to the city on Saturday and caught the other two plays in the Norman Conquests trilogy. It's even more hilarious when you see all the plays.
On Sunday we caught the new Harry Potter movie. It was two and a half hours long, and even then they tried to pack too much into it. It ended up making almost no sense. I feel as though I needed to have reread the book to get what was going on. Jim Broadbent played Professor Slughorn rather well. He plays everything well come to think of it.
Anyway, I kind of like getting out instead of spending all our free time puttering in the garden. Alas, the weeding and mucking have been neglected, so I'm sure the garden will make me pay for my inattentiveness.
On Sunday we caught the new Harry Potter movie. It was two and a half hours long, and even then they tried to pack too much into it. It ended up making almost no sense. I feel as though I needed to have reread the book to get what was going on. Jim Broadbent played Professor Slughorn rather well. He plays everything well come to think of it.
Anyway, I kind of like getting out instead of spending all our free time puttering in the garden. Alas, the weeding and mucking have been neglected, so I'm sure the garden will make me pay for my inattentiveness.
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