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Blog
Sun Apr 18, 2010
(Politics)
Comments
[An e-mail to my sister A.]
This reminded me of your story about your townhouse association meeting, where people complained their monthly fee was funding "more things than I use." (The bold text is my emphasis.)
"The System Is Broken" : More From a Poll of Tea Party Backers
Richard Harris, 61, a truck driver and an independent, of St. Petersburg, Fla.
"I just feel that taxation without representation is not a good idea, and that's what's happening. I'm an extreme conservative. Government should do the military and the roads and just about nothing else. They foul everything up if they do."
Kind of like your neighbors' argument that they should only pay for snow removal from their part of the sidewalk.
[My sister A responds.]
I don’t understand why these people say "taxation without representation" like it applies to them. It doesn’t. They are citizens and voters. They have representation. Taxation without representation referred to English colonists living in America who did not have a voice in their government, because it was a monarchy. But this is not a reasonable conversation to have with a tea-party member.
You're exactly right, Erik, by the way. I don't want to pay to repair the retention pond because I don't live anywhere near it. I don’t get any benefits from it. Ahem...yes you do. Your streets or your basement aren't flooded because there is a communal place for the water to collect and drain. People!
Sun Apr 18, 2010
(Religion)
Comments
[My brother in law forwarded a humorous article to me. In it, the screenwriter of Battlefield Earth apologizes for writing "the suckiest movie ever." I took this as an opportunity to say a few words about one of my favorite subjects, Scientology.]
I Penned The Suckiest Movie Ever - Sorry!
Funny stuff. Though The Greatest Story Ever Told is not exactly thrilling cinema either.
I am fascinated by the subject of Scientology. Absolutely fascinated by the questions it provokes when juxtaposed with the world's major religions.
My interpretation is that Scientology was invented by a bitter and misanthropic man as a big joke on humanity- a joke intended to expose middle-class sensibilities as nothing more than hollow received wisdom. Middle class society believes implicitly in its order. A person's station in life is an indication of their work ethic. There's nothing more to it than that. If a person is rewarded or punished, or an idea is promoted or suppressed, well it must be because he or she or it deserves it. L. Ron Hubbard played by the middle class rules and was not rewarded, was not so much as even noticed. "Well, fuck 'em", he must have said. "Let's invent a new world order with me at the top."
It's a fun game guessing who's in on the joke and secretly laughing at the masses as they condemn Scientology's "misguided, crazy, fictional, cultish, and heretical" beliefs. And guessing who's been duped into thinking Scientology is actually serious.
I mean isn't there some perverse pleasure in watching the same people who scoff at a genesis theory based on aliens, volcanoes, and vaporized souls dutifully nod their head in agreement on Sunday when the priest discusses the holy ghost, Noah's ark, and the pearly white gates? And what state of mind allows a person to characterize Scientology's recruitment efforts as "brain washing" and its congregation "a cult" and yet entices the pagan with promises of eternal life (John 3:16) and cosmic justice? Seriously, the Beatitudes preached by Jesus were used by the privileged class to justify the feudal system in the Middle Ages. And Scientology is a cult?
It all seems crazy to me. Pick your crazy- a long established one or hip new one. Scientology, Christianity- they're both based on believing many things a priori, without any need to test or verify the knowledge. I can't relate to that. I mean, I understand why religious belief persists to this today- it alleviates anxiety. But I can't understand the criticisms different congregations hurl at each other. There's no sense of self-awareness in any of it.
[See my previous essay on Scientology.]
Sun Apr 18, 2010
Comments
[My brother in law forwarded this article to me. We had discussed it over lunch with some friends from work. I replied with my comments after I had a chance to read the article.]
Helpful Dads Can Hurt Mom's Self-Esteem
As for why a mother's self-competence took a hit from perfect dads, Sasaki suggests pressure to keep up with societal norms plays a role.
"In American society, women are expected to take a main role in parenting despite increasingly egalitarian sex roles," Sasaki said. "Thus, we believe that employed mothers suffer from self-competence losses when their husbands are involved and skillful because those mothers may consider that it is a failure to fulfill cultural expectations."
Sasaki added, "Husbands do not suffer from self-competence losses even when their wives are involved and skillful because that is consistent with cultural expectations."
Why is the illness always diagnosed as social pressure? What about biological impulse? Maybe the mother feels the father is robbing her of time to bond emotionally with her baby- time she feels is rightfully hers. I don’t know. I’m just saying there’s more than one possibility here.
Sun Apr 18, 2010
Comments
[I saw this article on CNN and had to vent to my sister and brother in law.]
Brooklyn Brewhaha: Babies In Bars
You have got to be kidding me! No smoking in bars. Now it’s no swearing in bars? Pretty soon it will be no flirting. How about no drinking?
"...where the cost of baby sitters can be prohibitive." That’s your f'n problem. Mental.
Sun Apr 18, 2010
(Music)
Comments
This is the best video I've ever seen on YouTube. I have it on DVD. But the fact that it's available for all the world to see on YouTube somehow makes the whole Internet- warts and all- worthwhile.
Stevie Ray Vaughan may have been the most naturally gifted blues guitarist the world has ever seen. He may not have been as inventive as Jimi Hendrix but there's no denying the raw emotion with which he plays. In his hands the guitar seems an extension of the human heart.
I will never forget the day he died. I was in Drafting class in high school. It was late August so I had only been in class a few days. I was just getting to know the teacher and fellow students. Most of us were freshman or sophomores but there was one senior in the class. He always wore a black gaucho hat and kept mostly to himself.
The day after Stevie Ray Vaughan died the senior walks into the Drafting classroom. It was obvious to anyone remotely observant that he was upset about something. He heads to his desk and starts working on his assignment in silence.
The kid across from me, as was his wont, starts singing while working on his drawing. Some stupid pop tune- important in the moment to those who follow the fads but utterly disposable in the long run. A Vanilla Ice rap or similar hip-hop nonsense.
"Will you shut the hell up?!" the senior bellows to the wannabe rapper. Normally the teacher would intervene to keep order in the classroom but I think he had an inkling of what was to come. He let the scene play out. The senior proceeded to lecture all of us underclassmen about how we had no taste in music- that we were all slaves to the trends and ignorant of anything beyond the Top 40 garbage played on pop radio. That we would do better to educate ourselves about the man we lost yesterday.
It was because of his lecture that I made an effort to learn about Stevie Ray Vaughan's music. I went to the local record store that week and bought one of his albums. Remember when every neighborhood had a cool record store filled with vinyl albums, import CDs, and bootleg Zeppelin concert tapes? Ah, good memories!
Anyhow, I've been a fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan's music to this day.
Read this video's comments. Have you ever seen so many positive comments on YouTube?
Sun Apr 18, 2010
(Music)
Comments
A seventeen year old Dutch girl plays Metallica's Blackened.
Oh my God. This girl can play.
Original video found on YouTube. Predictably, the comment section is overrun with marriage proposals from adolescent boys. As awkward and funny as these comments are, there's something in the back of my mind (any man's mind who's a fan of metal) that says after watching this video, "That's hot."
I mean how many women have you seen that can play guitar this well?
Sun Apr 18, 2010
(Music)
Comments
A German amateur plays Crossroad Blues on dobro. I love his slide guitar technique and how he keeps time by tapping his boots on the wooden floor. This is low-down blues at its best. I can imagine Robert Johnson singing this in a Mississippi juke joint back in the '30s- pleading for forgiveness from God in front of a drunk and lecherous crowd.
It makes me think of Dostoevsky's assertion that true believers exist only among the wicked.
Isn't it interesting how fascinated we humans are with the Faustian Pact? From the uneducated blues guitarist to the most erudite writer of high fiction, we love to tell the tale of the man who sold his soul to the Devil.
Went down to the crossroad.
Fell down on my knees.
I went down to the crossroad.
Fell down on my knees.
Well I asked the Lord to have mercy.
Save me if you please.
You can run, you can run babe.
Tell my friend poor Willie Brown.
You can run, you can run babe.
Tell my friend poor Willie Brown.
That I'm standing at the crossroad.
I believe I'm sinking down.
Original video found on YouTube.
Wed Mar 10, 2010
(Music)
Comments
Apparently there are modern bands making good music. Great '70s funk groove here*. Crank up the volume!
Letterman liked it so much he asked for an encore. I’ve never seen him do that.
* There's no contradiction in saying "modern band" and "70's funk." All good music is rooted in the past.
Tue Mar 02, 2010
(Politics)
Comments
The Democrats are a bunch of pussies. They cower at the mere threat of a filibuster. If you believe in a public option, I say, then put it to a fucking vote. Let the Republicans make asses of themselves reading from the telephone book or whatever the hell they'd do to block health care reform. "Oh no, they're going to filibuster." Horror of horrors! "Let's drop the subject."
The most liberal Democrats, ugh... When they realized they weren't going to get everything they wanted in the health care bill, they went crying to the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal. Jesus Christ! Mommy has abandoned me. Who will protect me?
I bet Rahm Emanuel loves this Saturday Night Live sketch. He probably has it playing in a loop in his office. Brilliant.
What I should have called you are fucking babies. Stupid, fucking babies who can't keep their mouths shut. You went to the Wall Street Journal with this, you fucking turncoats?! The Wall Street Journal?
I'm trying to get shit done here. And I know we're not moving as fast as you want on health care, but maybe you've noticed the Republicans are trying to paint us as Soviet crack dealers. I've already got them crawling up my ass and now you want in too? I've got so many legislators in my colon I need sixty votes just to take a shit. So fuck you!
...
[To Sarah Palin]
So now I'm waiting for your apology you fucking harpy. Or do you forget saying my brother Zeke supports death panels and his philosophy was downright evil? Well, he's a fucking doctor who's dedicated his life to helping people, not a quitter who couldn't finish dinner. So why don't you stick to collecting checks for your stupid Tea Party speeches, you half a fuck politician.
Also, you come after me on Facebook? What are you, fourteen? Here's a status update: Grow the fuck up! Poke me again and I will write shit on your wall so obscene your computer will cry. Go back to the tundra you fucking gimmick!
In conclusion, boo-fucking-hoo. Get over it.
"Not a quitter who couldn't finish dinner." Ha ha, my favorite line. The Democrats need more politicians like Rahm Emanuel. With cojones.
Tue Mar 02, 2010
Comments
[A recent e-mail exchange with my brother in law, J.]
Me: Great headline: After Skating, a Unique Olympic Event: Crying
Yeah, I’m not watching that.
J: The key line:
Some national skating federations put their skaters through training for the kiss-and-cry. Mark Ladwig, who skates with Amanda Evora in pairs, said he had attended a U.S. Figure Skating training program in which skaters participated in a mock kiss-and-cry.
Ironic, figure skating/ice dancing is the only winter sport in the games that doesn't involve protective gear (no hats, helmets, goggles, gloves), unless you want to count the protective sheathes they put on their skate blades after they leave the rink...
...even in curling they wear protective work gloves, but ok, even if I gave you that one, you still don't see them crying. That would be like crying in a bar after you lose a game of darts.
Me: "Like crying in a bar after you lose a game of darts." Ha ha! Exactly right.
The only good thing about ice skating are the hot skaters. I haven’t watched this year to know if there are any. Over the weekend NBC cut away from the games to go to Extra, or whatever their Hollywood gossip show is. I was about to turn it off but they were interviewing Lindsey Vonn, so I left it on. Then they do a "Where is she now?" segment on Katarina Witt, the German ice skater from way back when. Whenever I hear her name I think of my Uncle B.
"She can fall flat on her ass and she still gets a 10 from me."
They show some old film, show some censored Playboy photos, then cut to Katarina and the interviewer walking on the street. They stop in a bakery. The interviewer asks Katarina what she’d like. She asks for a cup of coffee and a muffin. They freeze the tape and draw a circle around the muffin. "Pay attention," the interviewer says in voice-over, "This will come into play later."
Yada, yada, yada, the interviewer asks her where her gold medals are. She says she’s not sure. Probably in a box with the rest of her trophies. Then she adds, "But I used to know where they were."
"Used to?"
"Sometimes, if I was out with a guy and I really liked him," she says in that sexy accent of hers, "I’d ask if he wanted to come back to my place to see my gold medals."
The interviewer starts laughing. "Did it work?"
"He never saw my medals."
At this the interviewer loses it. Laughs loudly, turns a shade red. Customers stare. Finally he composes himself, looks at the plate in front of Katarina, and asks "Can I have some of your muffin?"
She slaps his arm. "Shame! I understand the language well enough..."
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