Sunday, June 29, 2008

Independence Day

Ok, boys and girls, this is the time when I take some time. I'm tearing myself away from the computer for awhile, and once I get over the shakes and hallucinations of iMac withdrawal, I'm going to enjoy me a little vacation. My Blue Eyed Lady of the Flatlands and I are heading for the North Country, also known as Up North, or more literally, the North Woods.

And with that I leave you with a little something to celebrate the impending Independence Day holiday: the most sensuous version of the Star Spangled Banner you will ever hear, from a Brother who was taken way too soon, Marvin Gaye.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

A Timely Word or Two on the Airlines

This is a good bit (weren't they all?) from the late George Carlin on airline announcements that I came across in a nice article about Carlin's career in Slate magazine.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Fleeing Thoughts: Guns and Chocolate

-The United States Supreme Court declared today that the Constitution protects the right of an individual to keep and bear arms. Well, duh. Who thought they would declare otherwise. Let's face it, this country has a long tradition of individual gun ownership and precedent exists for this ownership going back to the Pilgrims stepping off the Mayflower with muskets in their hands. They were individuals, not "militia" members. What government officials who want gun bans ought to be focusing on now are two things: tough gun use laws with stiff penalties for using a gun in the commission of a crime and illegal gun possession, and the teaching of morals in the schools. Nothing fancy, just right and wrong, as in it's wrong to kill people. A nation filled with people who don't know the basics of right and wrong is going to find ways to kill each other, even if they don't have a gun.

-Take care of the chocolate and everything will be alright. US government scientists have teamed up with the private sector to study the cocoa genome. I don't know what that means exactly, but I do know that they are doing this in an effort to battle crop diseases and the end result may even be better tasting chocolate! Finally, the government is doing something useful.

Cowards and Bullies

The Environmental Protection Agency performed a study and came to the conclusion that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be controlled. The EPA put together a document and e-mailed this document to the White House. The White House refused to open the e-mail, so therefore the EPA document had no official status.

How cowardly, but how typical of the Bush administration. It's made up of cowards and bullies (the same thing, really).

Everyone who voted for Bush in 2004 knew what this guy was all about, what a piece of work he is. Really, everyone who voted for Bush ought to be ashamed of themselves. Think what you want of John Kerry (and I didn't think all that much of him) but a Kerry White House wouldn't have been unwilling to open an e-mail voicing an opinion it didn't like.

The Weak Dollar and the Steel Renaissance

It's a scary world out there. Filling up my gas tank takes a frightening amount of money that I don't really have, it's summer but the sun will give me cancer but if I use too much sun block I won't get enough vitamin D from the sun, and tomatoes are trying to kill me. I'm frightened of anything and everything. I can't even go to the local farmer's market, one of my favorite summer activities, for fear of buying vegetables that have sat under Mid-Western flood waters contaminated by toxins and poisons and God knows what else.

And I fear for my country and how Americans will make a living. If everything I own, and everything you own too, is made in China, what will Americans make? A country that manufactures nothing is dependent on the good will of others, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of good will in the world these days. And an America that manufactures nothing has no jobs for what was once a vast middle class.

But fear not. Or at least not in the area of steel manufacturing, where there may be a renaissance occurring. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, the weakened dollar is having a positive impact on northeastern Indiana's steel industry, positive to the point that steel makers have been able to raise prices and plants are operating at almost 90 percent of capacity, something not seen since the 1970s. Yeah, that's right, Hoosiers to the rescue.

The weak dollar makes steel imports more expensive, so there is a lack of competition in the US on the steel market. Therefore, Americans are once again buying American steel. But that's not the only bit of good news author David Greising points out in this article. The Indian automaker that bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford has insisted that Ford continue to supply the automaker with American made parts because the United States has established itself as a maker of quality machinery. I'm sorry, what's that you say? We're making the good stuff? I really never thought I would see such a thing as that in print again.

It may be wishful thinking but perhaps this is only the beginning. Now that this country is competing with foreign manufacturers of machinery and steel, we can try and compete in other areas as well. The world overall is becoming a more developed place to live. In other words, other countries, exemplified by China and India, are becoming like the United States was in the 20th century. If Americans are still smart and ambitious, and I think some of us still are, the United States can play a large role in a hopefully positive development of the planet. And, as Americans are wont to do, we'll make a few bucks too.

We just have to make sure our politicians fight for real free trade, and not whatever it is that we have now. There is no way the US can compete with the Chinese on a global scale as long as they continue to artificially prop up their currency. There also needs to be a way to stop the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries. American business owners and American politicians need to realize that no country can exist where a large segment of the population is employed in the service industry. In other words, a nation full of Starbucks baristas making lattes for each other will not support a robust economy. We won't be able to afford to shop, and when America stops shopping, that's bad for the whole worlds economy.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Fleeing Thoughts: Baseball and comedy

-Before the Cubs and White Sox began their annual cross-town series of games, I assumed the Cubs would sweep at Wrigley and the Sox would sweep at the Cell the following weekend. However, having seen how the Cubs manhandled the Sox, essentially looking like a far more superior team than anyone would have thought, I think the Cubs have a chance of winning at least one, if not two, games on the South Side this coming weekend.

-Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said after Saturday's loss to the Cubs that he wasn't afraid of Jim Edmonds, even though Edmonds hit two home runs in that game. Ozzie, if you weren't afraid of Edmonds, how come you intentionally walked him in last nights game?

-If you watched the video previous to this post, you saw the late George Carlin pretty well sum up the differences between baseball and football. Not only that, but you got a classic example of what made Carlin great: not only was he funny and insightfully observant, but he made wonderful use of the English language. For all those reasons and more, Carlin endured in show business for nearly 50 years. He will be missed.

George Carlin 1937-2008

Friday, June 20, 2008

Mini Them

I just discovered Three Stooges Minisodes on YouTube. They are condensed versions of Three Stooges short films, which were just that, short. And now they're shorter. I really see no need to ever leave the house again. All Three Stooges, all the time. (And why is it that three middle aged men beating the crap out of each other is funny? I don't know. It just is.)

If They Only Had a Heart

Congress has redone the wiretapping laws after many months of discussion. For the most part, it's not that bad a deal in terms of civil liberties and the invasion of the privacy of Americans. There are more safeguards in the law than some conservative lawmakers would have preferred, which is a good thing. The one mystifying bit of this deal is the immunity for telecommunications companies, making invulnerable to lawsuits from American citizens who think their rights may have been violated.

According to this deal there will be a judicial oversight to determine if the phone companies received a legitimate request from government for a wiretap. And that's where the problem with immunity comes. Just because the government makes a request, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea, but more importantly, a governmental request isn't necessarily legal. It's the duty of every American citizen to decide if what the government is asking them to do is proper and legal. When immunity is granted in situations like this, it's like telling these companies it's alright to forgo their responsibilities as Americans, which the telecommunication companies appear to be all too willing to do.

The mystifying part comes in as to why the Democrats caved in on this matter. The Democrats have been talking a tough game about stemming the tide of George Bush's imperial presidency (and the precedent Bush has set for future administrations), but the Democrats, in control of Congress, have not acted tough. Quite frankly, they have acted timidly, or simply have not acted at all, as if they are still an out of power party cowering in the corners, fearful of even the shadows of Bush and Cheney.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Cancer and what you can do about it

I hate cancer.

I hate the word cancer. I hate what it is.

I hate the fact that there probably isn't a family in the United States that hasn't been touched by cancer in one way or another.

Cancer is a thief. Cancer is a robber. Cancer is a destroyer. Cancer is a killer. Cancer is a stealer.

Cancer steals your loved ones and someday may steal you.

Cancer has left a scar on my face, but that's nothing.

Cancer took my mother at age 56. She should have been able to grow old and grey and watch her son lose his hair.

But cancer stole her.

There are people on this earth, though, who are trying to kill the killer. Some of those people are scientists funded by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.

On November 9, 2008 this foundation will be hosting Go Vertical Chicago, a stair climb at Sears Tower, as a way of raising money and awareness in the fight against cancer.

I will be doing this stair climb, all 186 pounds of me. Yes, I will be hauling my fat butt up 103 flights of stairs. That's 2,109 steps. That's a lot of steps. It may take me awhile. I may still be climbing by this time next year.

But it will be worth it because I intend to raise some money in the effort to kill the killer. And to raise money, I need the help of anyone who may read this blog on occasion, if you can spare it. I know these are tough times, but if you can part with even a few dollars, I would appreciate it greatly.

If you can and you want to donate with a credit card, or you just want to see some more information, you can visit my personal Go Vertical web page just by clicking right here. When you get there you can read more info about the climb and the foundation and click on Go Donate to donate by credit card.

If you just wish to pledge now and pay later by cash or check or credit card, or if you prefer to send cash or a check directly to me, contact me at my personal e-mail, which can be found in my profile at the upper right hand corner of this page in the "About Me" section. It doesn't matter how much you give, even if it's only a dollar, it will help. And it will be appreciated.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Fleeing Thoughts: History Past and Present and Moles, too

-A recent Washington Post column presents President Bush as a man trying to sell himself to a disillusioned public as a leader who will be judged well by historians down the road, citing examples such as Harry Truman as presidents who were unpopular in their time but fared better as the years past. The article stated that Bush was a history major at Yale. What?!?!?!??! This guy was a history major?!? The man who shrugged off a question from Bob Woodward about how history will judge him, saying, "We don't know. We'll all be dead." This person who has an utter disregard for the basic concepts of democracy that this country was founded upon was a f#*$king history major? I really don't know what to say about that...

-The die is cast and Prince Barack of the Land of Lincoln has been anointed by the Party of Donkeys to be the next King of All the Land, the only obstacle remaining between the once and future King B and the White Palace is a pesky little thing called an Election. A lot of things can go wrong between now and November, so wrong that the drawbridge over the moat in front of the White Palace may be drawn up before the Good Prince crosses, leaving that Son of a Bush, the evil Warrior of the Arizona Desert to fly into the palace on wrinkled bat wings. Uhhmmm....what the heck was I talking about...oh, yeah. Obama has a lot of potential stones in his pathway, none bigger than his vice-presidential choice. Hillary, I think, may be out of the question for him for oh, so many reasons, but Obama needs the female Democrats to come out in big numbers for him. Smart money says McCain chooses a woman as his running mate in an attempt to get those votes. Obama can choose a woman other than Hillary, such as Arizona governor Janet Napolitano, which would make things delightfully dicey for McCain in his home state in the fall election. Some women will say if Obama is going to choose a woman, why not Hillary? Obama will need to offer Clinton something other that the vice-presidency to make her happy. What that is, I don't know.

-Please, for the love of God, I don't want to hear another word about the mole on R. Kelly's back. The mute button on my remote control is getting worn out.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

I Didn't Know Diddley. At least, not personally.



Bo Diddley dead.

Bo Diddley was definitley one of the founding fathers of rock and roll. Yeah, every Bo Diddley song sounded more or less the same and that was cuz of the Bo Diddley beat. Why, yes, the Bo Diddley beat was simplistic, but man, it was catchy, get yer feet to tappin' and yer butt to wigglin'. Couldn't be helped, you just had to when you heard the Bo Diddley beat.

Ok, they were simplistic songs that all sounded alike. But it must be admitted the cat had an influence. Would George Thorogood have a career without Bo Diddley (and John Lee Hooker)? You can hear the Bo Diddley beat in songs from the '50s up to the present day, and not always in artists that you would think would have a Bo Diddley beat in their repetoire. Sure, you can understand when the beat shows up in the Rolling Stones' version of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," and you can dig it in George Thorogood and his classic rock take on the Bo beat. And yeah, you can get into the groove when the Pretenders do "The Cuban Slide". But the Smiths? Yeah, the melancholy Brits slowed the beat down and turned it into a suicide trance on "How Soon is Now," my favorite Smiths song, not that I have many.

So, yeah, Bo was an influence. And now he's gone. Long live Bo Diddley and the Bo Diddley beat.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

A Day at the Races

I love the smell of grilled food and engine fumes in the morning. It smells like...like victory. Well, victory for some, losses for others, and for all the intermingling of the pain and joy of competition. In short, it smells like a day at the races.

What better way to welcome June than to go to Byron Dragway in beautiful Byron, Illinois. It was my first visit there and, just as any man should, I enjoyed it. Blue sky and bright sun shining down on a drag strip in the middle of rolling Illinois prairie, a place teeming with fast cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles (yes, snowmobiles) and women with tattoos on their legs. Who wouldn’t like this?

To be fair, you don’t need to be a man to enjoy car racing; my wife liked it as well. There’s something captivating about a car or a snowmobile (yes, I said snowmobile, now stop asking) shooting down a strip of pavement at top speed. The races and time trials only last a few seconds, but they’re a pretty exciting few seconds.

What brought us to the track this fine day was our friend C.J. Williams and his Ford Mustang. It’s a beautiful black machine (the car, not C.J.) and it’s fast and it’s loud. That’s the thing about auto racing. Loud and fast. Lots of noise and speed and fumes and plumes of smoke as the tires spin at the start of the race and it’s quite a sight. It’s the kind of sight that leads one to suspect that what we see at the racetrack are little boys (and girls too) grown up and able to play with expensive toys. But beyond the money spent, there’s love, love for creating a machine capable of getting up to speeds well in excess of one hundred miles an hour in only a few seconds.

Racing is a test of the ability to build and maintain a machine that will be super fast while not flying apart at the seams, and the skill of the driver to make the machine do what he wants it to do. Racing is competition, something beloved by Americans from the early days of our country.

Ultimately though, racing is fun. That’s why the racers race, and that’s why people watch. And that too, the urge to have fun, is also very American. I mean, where else do they race snowmobiles on dry pavement? You don’t see that sort of thing in the former Soviet Union, do you? Nope. Only in America do snowmobiles race on blacktop. Why do it? Because we can.

Man and machine: Pictured below, C.J. Williams and his Ford Mustang.