My wife and I leave today for a week in Mexico. Ajijic, to be specific. We'll stay with my brother and his wife, who moved there over a year ago...into what appears to be, from all the photos, a beautiful home. Another brother and a sister are already there, so this will be a miniature version of a family reunion. Another brother and another sister won't be there, but maybe we can try again next year.
This week between Christmas and New Year's Day is the only time of year that I can close my office and get away. I relish it.
We're busy packing and making sure we don't leave anything we need behind...but if this trip is like most, we'll leave something behind, though it's likely to be minor. I may or may not blog while I'm away on holiday respite. I'll blog about my trip when I return, though, that's a sure thing.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Tradition
When I was much younger, in my high-school and college years, I felt disdain for tradition. The concept of tradition seemed to me to embody an unwillingness to recognize and acknowledge changes in the world around us. I did not understand then that we do not necessarily demonstrate a fear of change when we accept tradition but, rather, that in embracing tradition we honor those who have had an impact on our lives. In some respects, we honor those people by adopting their traditions.
In my family, we had a tradition of having tamales and chile con queso on Christmas eve. I'm pretty confident that our tradition was adopted from the Mexican culture around us, though not necessarily as a means of honoring that culture. Whatever the origins of that family tradition, I have continued it in my adult life. My wife and I enjoyed that tradition last night. But traditions change, too. When I was a child and a teenager and a young adult, we always found a Mexican lady who made homemade tamales as our source of pork & jalapeño tamales. When making the chile con queso, my mother used bacon fat as the oil in which onions and bell pepper were cooked until they were translucent. Today, I use corn oil instead of bacon fat to make the chile con queso. I try to find pork & jalapeño tamales, but rarely buy them from a Mexican lady who makes them at home. Instead, I usually buy them from a Mexican tortilla and tamale outlet. This year, though, I ran out of time trying to find a source of tamales...I waited until it was too late to order my tamales. So, I found another source, but had to settle for chicken & tomatillo & jalapeño tamales from a large grocery store. Fortunately, they were excellent! Traditions change, but their essence seems to stay the same.
My wife and I started a tradition several years ago on New Year's day...though it's not really an embedded tradition yet...it doesn't necessarily happen every year. Our tradition is to have an unusual ethnic luncheon or dinner...or to snack on the various canned foodstuffs we exchange as "stocking stuffers" at Christmas. That's another tradition we've developed over the years; I buy for her little delights like smoked oysters, liver paté, kipper snacks, herring, pickled herring, deviled meats, tiny pearl onions, bags of specialty potato chips, and other such snacks and then, on New Year's day, we munch on them all day long. It's an off & on tradition, but it's ours. If we don't do the "stocking stuffer" munching, we try to have what once was considered an unusual meal...but today is not unusual at all. In years past, we've had Chinese dim sum, Thai food, Indian food, and other dishes that were once exotic...the only requisite for me was that some part of the meal had to be very spicy...I had to start the year with fire in my belly!
Today is Christmas day, so when my wife wakes up, we will engage in another tradition. We will exchange our stocking stuffer gifts and we will make breakfast. We usually don't exchange major 'secret' gifts but, instead, we'll jointly decide to splurge on something. Last year, it was a double oven. This year, it's badly-needed repair work on the house. But we do exchange stocking stuffers. And this morning we'll have a breakfast of chorizo con juevos, with lots of cilantro and slices of tomatoes. My wife wants me to wake her up by 9:30...she wanted to sleep in today because we stayed up late watching a movie, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. And then, the tradition will continue!
In my family, we had a tradition of having tamales and chile con queso on Christmas eve. I'm pretty confident that our tradition was adopted from the Mexican culture around us, though not necessarily as a means of honoring that culture. Whatever the origins of that family tradition, I have continued it in my adult life. My wife and I enjoyed that tradition last night. But traditions change, too. When I was a child and a teenager and a young adult, we always found a Mexican lady who made homemade tamales as our source of pork & jalapeño tamales. When making the chile con queso, my mother used bacon fat as the oil in which onions and bell pepper were cooked until they were translucent. Today, I use corn oil instead of bacon fat to make the chile con queso. I try to find pork & jalapeño tamales, but rarely buy them from a Mexican lady who makes them at home. Instead, I usually buy them from a Mexican tortilla and tamale outlet. This year, though, I ran out of time trying to find a source of tamales...I waited until it was too late to order my tamales. So, I found another source, but had to settle for chicken & tomatillo & jalapeño tamales from a large grocery store. Fortunately, they were excellent! Traditions change, but their essence seems to stay the same.
My wife and I started a tradition several years ago on New Year's day...though it's not really an embedded tradition yet...it doesn't necessarily happen every year. Our tradition is to have an unusual ethnic luncheon or dinner...or to snack on the various canned foodstuffs we exchange as "stocking stuffers" at Christmas. That's another tradition we've developed over the years; I buy for her little delights like smoked oysters, liver paté, kipper snacks, herring, pickled herring, deviled meats, tiny pearl onions, bags of specialty potato chips, and other such snacks and then, on New Year's day, we munch on them all day long. It's an off & on tradition, but it's ours. If we don't do the "stocking stuffer" munching, we try to have what once was considered an unusual meal...but today is not unusual at all. In years past, we've had Chinese dim sum, Thai food, Indian food, and other dishes that were once exotic...the only requisite for me was that some part of the meal had to be very spicy...I had to start the year with fire in my belly!
Today is Christmas day, so when my wife wakes up, we will engage in another tradition. We will exchange our stocking stuffer gifts and we will make breakfast. We usually don't exchange major 'secret' gifts but, instead, we'll jointly decide to splurge on something. Last year, it was a double oven. This year, it's badly-needed repair work on the house. But we do exchange stocking stuffers. And this morning we'll have a breakfast of chorizo con juevos, with lots of cilantro and slices of tomatoes. My wife wants me to wake her up by 9:30...she wanted to sleep in today because we stayed up late watching a movie, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. And then, the tradition will continue!
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Late on Christmas Eve
It's just after 10:30 pm on Christmas eve. I don't feel that tonight, nor tomorrow, is a religious day, at least not for me. I know that for many people, though, this time of year is profoundly important. It's profoundly important for me in some ways, too, but not for the same reasons as my believer brethren. I think, though, that the roots of the import of this time of year for me and for others are found in the same glimmer of hope.
Some people turn to the supernatural for solice; they believe, or create, stories about people or beings that convey important concepts that should guide the way we live our lives. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist...they all have specific ideas about the genesis of our planet and our lives and they all offer their interpretations of what those ideas mean. Ultimately, I think most religions have, at their core, a desire for mankind to treat other men with dignity and respect and to respect this planet and the universe surrounding us. The way they try to imbed that message in their followers varies dramatically. Some religions have, over time, become dangerous, instead of protective and comforting. Let me revise that; it's not some religions, it's most, if not all.
I know virtually nothing of Islam, but what I have read recently makes me believe it is dangerous. I believe Judaism is dangerous. I believe Christianity is dangerous. Buddhism, from what little I know, is mostly positive, if deluded. I haven't paid much attention to others. Lately, though, I hear from religious leaders the sort of vitriol and hatred that I thought was reserved for the insane. The concepts of tolerance and embrace seem to be disappearing.
I struggle with religion. I have no use for it, but then I wonder whether my own beliefs...we're born, we live, we die, and we should be good to people in the process...are religious. Mind you, I fail in my execution of my beliefs, or my wishes. But isn't religion a means for us to codify our moral codes? How do we give rationale to our moral codes without religion? I think I do, I just don't know how.
At this time of year, I hear Christmas carols and hymns and wishes for world peace and I am touched by them. It's hard to describe, though. I'm not touched out of my religious beliefs, but out of my desire, my wish, that the world were indeed modeled after what is considered by at least some religions as compassion. Part of my rejection of religions (aside from the primary, fundamental problem...belief in a superior being) is the fact that they preach tolerance and goodness, and then turn around and condone and promote hatred and prejudice and intolerance.
Happy holidays...Merry Christmas...however you see this world we live in, I wish for you and yours safety, happiness, closeness with those you love, and a better and more tolerant world in the days and years ahead.
Some people turn to the supernatural for solice; they believe, or create, stories about people or beings that convey important concepts that should guide the way we live our lives. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist...they all have specific ideas about the genesis of our planet and our lives and they all offer their interpretations of what those ideas mean. Ultimately, I think most religions have, at their core, a desire for mankind to treat other men with dignity and respect and to respect this planet and the universe surrounding us. The way they try to imbed that message in their followers varies dramatically. Some religions have, over time, become dangerous, instead of protective and comforting. Let me revise that; it's not some religions, it's most, if not all.
I know virtually nothing of Islam, but what I have read recently makes me believe it is dangerous. I believe Judaism is dangerous. I believe Christianity is dangerous. Buddhism, from what little I know, is mostly positive, if deluded. I haven't paid much attention to others. Lately, though, I hear from religious leaders the sort of vitriol and hatred that I thought was reserved for the insane. The concepts of tolerance and embrace seem to be disappearing.
I struggle with religion. I have no use for it, but then I wonder whether my own beliefs...we're born, we live, we die, and we should be good to people in the process...are religious. Mind you, I fail in my execution of my beliefs, or my wishes. But isn't religion a means for us to codify our moral codes? How do we give rationale to our moral codes without religion? I think I do, I just don't know how.
At this time of year, I hear Christmas carols and hymns and wishes for world peace and I am touched by them. It's hard to describe, though. I'm not touched out of my religious beliefs, but out of my desire, my wish, that the world were indeed modeled after what is considered by at least some religions as compassion. Part of my rejection of religions (aside from the primary, fundamental problem...belief in a superior being) is the fact that they preach tolerance and goodness, and then turn around and condone and promote hatred and prejudice and intolerance.
Happy holidays...Merry Christmas...however you see this world we live in, I wish for you and yours safety, happiness, closeness with those you love, and a better and more tolerant world in the days and years ahead.
The Day Before Christmas
'Tis the Day before Christmas and the air smells of wassail and honey.
Most wallets are empty, but Bush keeps stealing our money.
Most credit cards are maxxed out, with creditors waiting,
To be paid for our gluttony and our bad credit rating.
The fascists are smiling, the self-assured scum,
They'd lied to the public, with more lies to come.
Bush in his stetson, and Cheney in his smirk,
Were settling down for a hard day of WORK,
When out in the country came a collective loud scream,
The people were rising up, or was this just a dream?
I turned on the TV to hear from Fox News,
Oh no, it was nothing, just Bush airing his views.
But I heard something different from CNN and NPR
They said people were tired and were opposing the war.
Words now were spoken against Bush and his tribes,
Those bastards who stole and who took all those bribes.
That set Bush to plotting a way to recover his crown
He'd hold his critics under water, hoping they'd drown.
He said it was legal, and that he had every right.
He'd checked in at Justice, they'd locked it up tight.
But the Senate had questions and the House wasn't sure
Whether Bush had good motives, and whether his motives were pure.
They acted right quickly, with applomb and good speed
To impeach and indict him and cause the bastard to bleed.
It was too bad and a shame it had taken so long
For the House and the Senate to see he was wrong.
But it finally happened, thank goodness I was still alive
To see the removal of George Bush in 2025.
Most wallets are empty, but Bush keeps stealing our money.
Most credit cards are maxxed out, with creditors waiting,
To be paid for our gluttony and our bad credit rating.
The fascists are smiling, the self-assured scum,
They'd lied to the public, with more lies to come.
Bush in his stetson, and Cheney in his smirk,
Were settling down for a hard day of WORK,
When out in the country came a collective loud scream,
The people were rising up, or was this just a dream?
I turned on the TV to hear from Fox News,
Oh no, it was nothing, just Bush airing his views.
But I heard something different from CNN and NPR
They said people were tired and were opposing the war.
Words now were spoken against Bush and his tribes,
Those bastards who stole and who took all those bribes.
That set Bush to plotting a way to recover his crown
He'd hold his critics under water, hoping they'd drown.
He said it was legal, and that he had every right.
He'd checked in at Justice, they'd locked it up tight.
But the Senate had questions and the House wasn't sure
Whether Bush had good motives, and whether his motives were pure.
They acted right quickly, with applomb and good speed
To impeach and indict him and cause the bastard to bleed.
It was too bad and a shame it had taken so long
For the House and the Senate to see he was wrong.
But it finally happened, thank goodness I was still alive
To see the removal of George Bush in 2025.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Sushi...Again
On December 10 (I think), my favorite wife and I went to a David Sedaris play. Afterward, we had sushi at a great little sushi place in Addison. Tonight, we went to the same place. But tonight, we pulled out all the stops. Tonight, we paid for the dinner on our corporate AMEX, knowing full well that we'll end the year with a huge deficit. Life's too short to worry about the little things!
Anyway, we had talked about going to a Greek restaurant, but tonight's sky looked more like sushi. So, we decided to revisit our sushi spot of recent adoration and this time we wanted to make it a corporate event, complete with board meeting, so we can write it off. And that we did.
We had two small bottles of sake, one made in the U.S. and the other in Japan. Both were good, but I much preferred the Japanes sake. Naturally, I have no idea what brands we were drinking.
But the food! We had a volcano roll, with a combination of scallops and crawfish in a very spicy sauce topping several nice crawfish rolls. Wonderful! And we had spicy salmon and spicy tuna rolls. And we had slices of raw salmon that was beyong belief! And an assortment of other wonderful stuff. Heaven! I do love sushi and sashimi. Fresh raw tuna is a gift from whoever is the latest god in control of the universe. This place has spectacular wasabi, too...it will clear your sinuses and cause your brain to bleed if you're not careful. Even the soy sauce is special. I guess you would be right if you guessed I like this place. I'd love to make it a regular stop on Friday evenings. My entire wife pointed out to me that most people tonight dropped in for one or two items, then left...unlike the two of us, who pretended we needed to eat enough to last us until December 2013. I think her point was that we can afford to do this more frequently...but only in moderation.
It's interesting that, just this afternoon, I was listening to an NPR program that suggested our diets and tastes in food have changed dramatically over the last 40 years because of the repeal of some law, which I didn't catch, that allowed a massive influx of migrants to the U.S. If that's the case, then I applaud the law. I probably won't applaud it forever, but in the spirit of welcoming the world and all the world can offer to lift us up and out of the darkness of Bushiness, I'll all for it.
Damn, every time I think of the fascist I get depressed...I need a quart of sake...
Anyway, we had talked about going to a Greek restaurant, but tonight's sky looked more like sushi. So, we decided to revisit our sushi spot of recent adoration and this time we wanted to make it a corporate event, complete with board meeting, so we can write it off. And that we did.
We had two small bottles of sake, one made in the U.S. and the other in Japan. Both were good, but I much preferred the Japanes sake. Naturally, I have no idea what brands we were drinking.
But the food! We had a volcano roll, with a combination of scallops and crawfish in a very spicy sauce topping several nice crawfish rolls. Wonderful! And we had spicy salmon and spicy tuna rolls. And we had slices of raw salmon that was beyong belief! And an assortment of other wonderful stuff. Heaven! I do love sushi and sashimi. Fresh raw tuna is a gift from whoever is the latest god in control of the universe. This place has spectacular wasabi, too...it will clear your sinuses and cause your brain to bleed if you're not careful. Even the soy sauce is special. I guess you would be right if you guessed I like this place. I'd love to make it a regular stop on Friday evenings. My entire wife pointed out to me that most people tonight dropped in for one or two items, then left...unlike the two of us, who pretended we needed to eat enough to last us until December 2013. I think her point was that we can afford to do this more frequently...but only in moderation.
It's interesting that, just this afternoon, I was listening to an NPR program that suggested our diets and tastes in food have changed dramatically over the last 40 years because of the repeal of some law, which I didn't catch, that allowed a massive influx of migrants to the U.S. If that's the case, then I applaud the law. I probably won't applaud it forever, but in the spirit of welcoming the world and all the world can offer to lift us up and out of the darkness of Bushiness, I'll all for it.
Damn, every time I think of the fascist I get depressed...I need a quart of sake...
New Business Possibility
I received a large envelope yesterday, full of brochures, newsletters, and other such materials from an association. Along with the literature was a request for proposal for association management. The letter noted that proposals must be received by January 3 to be considered. So, I've gotta stop blogging and work on getting, or trying to get, a new piece of business!
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Improve Texas
My niece send me a bumper sticker with the words, "IMPROVE TEXAS--WITHOUT DELAY!" printed on it. She's got the right idea!
I'm getting busy trying to decide what information I need to take with me on my trip to Mexico, so very little time to write...more later tonight if I can.
I'm getting busy trying to decide what information I need to take with me on my trip to Mexico, so very little time to write...more later tonight if I can.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Cheney Should Not Promote the Ends Justifying the Means
Vice President Dick Cheney, in his typical fascist style of defending the illegal acts of an utterly corrupt government, had this to say about Bush's direction to NSA:
"I believe in a strong, robust executive authority and I think that the world we live in demands it." He goes on to say "I would argue that the actions that we've taken there are (the NSA spying on Americans arrangement) totally appropriate and consistent with the constitutional authority of the president...You know, it's not an accident that we haven't been hit in four years,"
Well, then, what the hell! If the ends justify the means, then let's just completely obliterate those who are threatening us! Nuke 'em, every one! Actually, Cheney should be concerned about pontificating about the ends justifying the means...we need a government that is free of fascists...we need it so much that any action, anything, should be done to ensure that it happens.
"I believe in a strong, robust executive authority and I think that the world we live in demands it." He goes on to say "I would argue that the actions that we've taken there are (the NSA spying on Americans arrangement) totally appropriate and consistent with the constitutional authority of the president...You know, it's not an accident that we haven't been hit in four years,"
Well, then, what the hell! If the ends justify the means, then let's just completely obliterate those who are threatening us! Nuke 'em, every one! Actually, Cheney should be concerned about pontificating about the ends justifying the means...we need a government that is free of fascists...we need it so much that any action, anything, should be done to ensure that it happens.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Christmas Music
Since I posted my last message about Glenn Mitchell, I found a couple of wonderful Christmas CDs created by my nearly-brother-in-law John...incredible music! I love the jazz, blues, crazy music! Just listened to Chicago do a great piece...lots more to listen to. Thanks, John!
I Still Miss Glenn Mitchell
Yesterday, KERA 90.1 (our local NPR station) broadcast a memorial, a retrospective show, of the Christmas Blockbuster show, a tribute to its creator and 30-year host, Glenn Mitchell. If you don't know who Glenn Mitchell was, let me tell you. He was a brilliant radio talk show host who spent more than 30 years on the air at KERA in Dallas. His noontime talk show was exceptional. I wrote last month about his death.
Listening to the show yesterday, I realized how I had come to look forward to it each year. It was a mixture of Christmas music and education. Glenn was, apparently, a fan of everything related to Christmas and he educated his listeners over the years. His Christmas Blockbusters often talked about the origins of various Christmas traditions...for example, the evolution of Santa Claus, how mistletoe go into the act, who some of the characters in Christmas carols were, how some carols have nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas, et. I assume he was a religious guy, but the only reason I assume that is his fascination with Christmas. He never said a word, that I recall, about his religious beliefs. I'm not a believer, but found his Chistmas Blockbusters wonderful. I love lots of Christmas music...Eartha Kitt, singing Santa Baby, is fantastic...I've come to really enjoy lots of jazz and blues versions of traditional Christmas carols. All of this is attributable to Glenn Mitchell. I admire the guy alot. I miss him and his shows. He was, as lots of people are saying, a renaissance man. Would that I were.
I really hope KERA will compile a CD of some of Glenn's interviews. He asked wonderful questions and was a wonderfully gracious host. The breadth of people he interviewed was amazing. Politicians, authors, musicians...you name it. People of every political stripe...people so different from one another it was hard to imagine this one guy speaking the same language to all of them. His Friday shows were among my favorites..."everything you ever wanted to know." People would call in with questions, and others would call in with answers. Sometimes, he'd hold those shows at the public library, where he would challenge library staff to do research and provide the answers.
If I have another career in me, I'll model it after Glenn Mitchell. He deserves to be honored by being remembered and emulated.
Listening to the show yesterday, I realized how I had come to look forward to it each year. It was a mixture of Christmas music and education. Glenn was, apparently, a fan of everything related to Christmas and he educated his listeners over the years. His Christmas Blockbusters often talked about the origins of various Christmas traditions...for example, the evolution of Santa Claus, how mistletoe go into the act, who some of the characters in Christmas carols were, how some carols have nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas, et. I assume he was a religious guy, but the only reason I assume that is his fascination with Christmas. He never said a word, that I recall, about his religious beliefs. I'm not a believer, but found his Chistmas Blockbusters wonderful. I love lots of Christmas music...Eartha Kitt, singing Santa Baby, is fantastic...I've come to really enjoy lots of jazz and blues versions of traditional Christmas carols. All of this is attributable to Glenn Mitchell. I admire the guy alot. I miss him and his shows. He was, as lots of people are saying, a renaissance man. Would that I were.
I really hope KERA will compile a CD of some of Glenn's interviews. He asked wonderful questions and was a wonderfully gracious host. The breadth of people he interviewed was amazing. Politicians, authors, musicians...you name it. People of every political stripe...people so different from one another it was hard to imagine this one guy speaking the same language to all of them. His Friday shows were among my favorites..."everything you ever wanted to know." People would call in with questions, and others would call in with answers. Sometimes, he'd hold those shows at the public library, where he would challenge library staff to do research and provide the answers.
If I have another career in me, I'll model it after Glenn Mitchell. He deserves to be honored by being remembered and emulated.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Weekend Tradition
Yesterday, I failed to live up to my weekend tradition. I woke up at 7:30 am, instead of my usual 'up before dawn' weekend tradition. Today, not so. I was up at 5:30 am, with time to make coffee and read the day's news and ease into the day slowly, at a comfortable pace, before the sun rises. Being up in the dark house alone, with no interaction except with myself, is nice. My wife is sleeping soundly, and probably has by now taken over the middle of the bed since I am no longer there to thwart her territorial imperialistic tendencies.
There is something very comforting about being up alone at this hour on a weekend morning. Even on days like today, when I know I will have to go to the office later, it relieves stress somehow. It's very different during the week; I can get up very early during the workweek, which I rarely do, but the sense of well-being I have on the weekend just isn't there. I suppose it's the sense of imminent obligations to be met that dampens the day when there's office work and office interactions ahead.
Today, though, it's nice. The coffee has brewed and its aroma fills the kitchen and the living room, where I have my computer for now. With my first cup of coffee, I can write...empty my head of thoughts that have waited all night to spill out...and take a look at the news. Reading the news from around the world, though, is rarely pleasant. But it's real. Today, I may try to stay away from my news habit; instead, I may focus my attention away from reading online news and toward reading my newest book acquisition, Mexico's Lake Chapala & Ajijic: The Insider's Guide. I bought the book very recently, at a price I considered too high, and was disappointed not in the content but in the quality of the printing. I'll have to wait to comment about the content. I've already learned some interesting tidbits, through just a tad of casual scanning.
I'm a man nearing my middle fifties, a business-owner with responsibilities to clients and employees, a home-owner with a significant mortgage on my house...I'm not of retirement age yet nor of retirement means. Those are the facts. But the wishes are different. I want to retire now. I have no resources to enable me to do it, but I want to do it, nonetheless. I want to be out from under the responsibility of providing an income to people. I want to be out from under the responsibility for providing the year-round headquarters offices of several client organizations. Instead, I want to make a difference in the world, doing something that will matter, while simultaneously not having to worry about where the money is coming from. But that's unrealistic. I might as well say I want to be a tall, athletic British television actor. No amount of wishing will make it so. I suppose I am experiencing the 'middle age crazies.'
Enough of this. It's 6:30 am now and I need to move on to enjoy what's left of today's morning darkness.
There is something very comforting about being up alone at this hour on a weekend morning. Even on days like today, when I know I will have to go to the office later, it relieves stress somehow. It's very different during the week; I can get up very early during the workweek, which I rarely do, but the sense of well-being I have on the weekend just isn't there. I suppose it's the sense of imminent obligations to be met that dampens the day when there's office work and office interactions ahead.
Today, though, it's nice. The coffee has brewed and its aroma fills the kitchen and the living room, where I have my computer for now. With my first cup of coffee, I can write...empty my head of thoughts that have waited all night to spill out...and take a look at the news. Reading the news from around the world, though, is rarely pleasant. But it's real. Today, I may try to stay away from my news habit; instead, I may focus my attention away from reading online news and toward reading my newest book acquisition, Mexico's Lake Chapala & Ajijic: The Insider's Guide. I bought the book very recently, at a price I considered too high, and was disappointed not in the content but in the quality of the printing. I'll have to wait to comment about the content. I've already learned some interesting tidbits, through just a tad of casual scanning.
I'm a man nearing my middle fifties, a business-owner with responsibilities to clients and employees, a home-owner with a significant mortgage on my house...I'm not of retirement age yet nor of retirement means. Those are the facts. But the wishes are different. I want to retire now. I have no resources to enable me to do it, but I want to do it, nonetheless. I want to be out from under the responsibility of providing an income to people. I want to be out from under the responsibility for providing the year-round headquarters offices of several client organizations. Instead, I want to make a difference in the world, doing something that will matter, while simultaneously not having to worry about where the money is coming from. But that's unrealistic. I might as well say I want to be a tall, athletic British television actor. No amount of wishing will make it so. I suppose I am experiencing the 'middle age crazies.'
Enough of this. It's 6:30 am now and I need to move on to enjoy what's left of today's morning darkness.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Either Bush Goes, or Democracy Goes
Today, George Bush admitted to directing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on people inside and outside the U.S. without court authorization. He says he intends to do it again. His actions are illegal. He is not the imperial president; he is not above the law. But his hubris and his taunting threat to continue breaking the law says one thing clearly: he believes he is absolute ruler of this country, subject to no restraint. He has shown his true colors in the clearest way; he is a Fascist who intends on becoming this country's first dictator. Either he goes, or democracy goes. If our Senators and Legislators do not act to remove him from office, the only choice the rest of us have is this: retake our government using whatever means we can, or submit to dictatorship.
More from the media
My time this morning has been spent reading, not writing. Here's what I've been reading about:
- Violent protests in Hong Kong
- Thunderstorms cause havoc in Brisbane, Australia
- Bus load of Chinese tourists injured in crash in Victoria, Australia
- Italian article on how to be chic in five lessons
- Mexican government has better understanding of the causes of illegal border crossings than does the U.S. House of Representatives
- Chilean reports on the extent to which alerce (a Chilean redwood tree) forests can be harvested contributes to confusion
- Someone stole a huge Henry Moore sculpture
- India and the Suez Canal authority have signed an agreement to construct a shipping canal off the southern coast of India
- One of the leaders of an oil industry shutdown in 2002-2003 (designed to topple the government of Hugo Chavez) in Venezuela was sentenced to 16 years in prison
- An air taxi service, which will charge about 50 cents per kilometer, will be launched in Russia in 2006 to link cities that are not served by regular air service
Friday, December 16, 2005
Sexual Predators
I just watched a program on television about people who snare teens, and younger people, into sex. This stuff is awful. People who have a need to have sex with teens really need to be under psychiatric care. I try not to label them as beasts, but it is hard not to do that...anyone who has these problems needs to seek help. They won't get much sympathy from me...I try, but I'm not bleeding heart enough.
My thoughts this evening...
There is, if you would believe the religious right-wing-nut-cases, a war on Christmas. Yes, retailers, left-wingers, people who insist on being politically correct and, of course, those God-damned heathens, are all out to eliminate Christmas. They are wrong, of course. People who want to celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday are free to do it...bless 'em...but it is mighty unchristian of them to insist that the holiday season be available only to christians. I believe, still, that people who loudly proclaim their religious views and attack people who hold other views are psychopaths. They are shrieking crazy people who belong in cages, at worst, or in rehabilitation programs, at best.
While I'm talking about crazy people, some folks seem to think it is inappropriate to call them crazy. It probably is...and I regret that I did it...people with psychological problems deserve to be treated with dignity. I guess I really intend for the term to apply to be who are both psychologically challenged and are mind-numbingly stupid and very dangerous. People like George Bush and Pat Robertson.
And now, speaking of Bush, isn't it nice that he has given the National Security Agency instructions to disregard the law and not to both getting court clearance before eavesdropping on U.S. citizens and others in the U.S.? Read about his latest foray into quashing civil liberties.
I often think about the young men and women who have died, or been permanently disfigured, fighting the war in Iraq. Those men and women, and the other people who have served in Iraq, really do deserve our admiration. They are willing to fight and die for us. But it's a horrible, horrible shame that they have been sent into harm's way on the basis of a lie. We don't belong in Iraq, but our government is willing to sacrifice troops there. It's especially painful to think that these men and women are away from their families at a time of year that, traditionally, has brought families together. It doesn't matter whether religion or secular celebration is responsible, this time of year often brings family and friends together. The troops in Iraq won't be able to participate. I am a believer in "support our troops," but my way of supporting them would be to bring them home alive and never, ever ask them again to participate in a war we started.
While I'm talking about crazy people, some folks seem to think it is inappropriate to call them crazy. It probably is...and I regret that I did it...people with psychological problems deserve to be treated with dignity. I guess I really intend for the term to apply to be who are both psychologically challenged and are mind-numbingly stupid and very dangerous. People like George Bush and Pat Robertson.
And now, speaking of Bush, isn't it nice that he has given the National Security Agency instructions to disregard the law and not to both getting court clearance before eavesdropping on U.S. citizens and others in the U.S.? Read about his latest foray into quashing civil liberties.
I often think about the young men and women who have died, or been permanently disfigured, fighting the war in Iraq. Those men and women, and the other people who have served in Iraq, really do deserve our admiration. They are willing to fight and die for us. But it's a horrible, horrible shame that they have been sent into harm's way on the basis of a lie. We don't belong in Iraq, but our government is willing to sacrifice troops there. It's especially painful to think that these men and women are away from their families at a time of year that, traditionally, has brought families together. It doesn't matter whether religion or secular celebration is responsible, this time of year often brings family and friends together. The troops in Iraq won't be able to participate. I am a believer in "support our troops," but my way of supporting them would be to bring them home alive and never, ever ask them again to participate in a war we started.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
From the news media...
- The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports at 7:45 am on December 15 that a woman was found alive after 63 days being trapped in the rubble of the monstrous earthquake in Pakistani Kashmir.
- ABC also reports that the violent rioting in and around Sydney has subsided.
- An op-ed piece in today's New York Times argues that the Supreme Court's willingness to review the Texas redistricting debacle led by Tom DeLay is an opportunity to correct a significant wrong.
OK...have to go back to work. Maybe more later.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Not Enough Time to Write
If you read today's post earlier, you may have missed a few comments...very few. I decided to add a few words before I go to bed. It's nearly midnight, so in just a few minutes, this would be tomorrow's blog. We wouldn't want that.
I heard Bob Pike speak tonight. He's a very well known and highly regarded trainer and training program designer. I was impressed...his message was solid, but a bit maudlin toward the end. Mind you, I have nothing against maudlin messages, other than the fact that I'm a sucker for them and they make me cry. And THAT pisses me off; my machismo gets beat all to shit when that happens.
Not enough time today, though...long, long day. Now, you can read what I originally contributed to today's blog. Not much to it.
It's not that I don't want to write in this blog every day, it's just that work gets in the way. Today, busy from before dawn to well after nightfall...it's 10:01 pm and we just got home from a client meeting less than 1/2 hour ago...after we stopped at a little Mexican restaurant for dinner.
Tomorrow, workers should arrive to start patching and painting inside...cracks caused by the foundation shifting will be repaired. We will still have lots to do, but little by little, we will get it done.
As I said...no time to write. Maybe soon.
I heard Bob Pike speak tonight. He's a very well known and highly regarded trainer and training program designer. I was impressed...his message was solid, but a bit maudlin toward the end. Mind you, I have nothing against maudlin messages, other than the fact that I'm a sucker for them and they make me cry. And THAT pisses me off; my machismo gets beat all to shit when that happens.
Not enough time today, though...long, long day. Now, you can read what I originally contributed to today's blog. Not much to it.
It's not that I don't want to write in this blog every day, it's just that work gets in the way. Today, busy from before dawn to well after nightfall...it's 10:01 pm and we just got home from a client meeting less than 1/2 hour ago...after we stopped at a little Mexican restaurant for dinner.
Tomorrow, workers should arrive to start patching and painting inside...cracks caused by the foundation shifting will be repaired. We will still have lots to do, but little by little, we will get it done.
As I said...no time to write. Maybe soon.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Working
Today, I got to the office early and left late. A client event tomorrow night, coupled with the introduction of a new offering from the client, had me very busy all day long. So busy, in fact, that I've lost all interest in writing...anything. Maybe later today, but probably tomorrow, I'll try to change my attitude and my mood.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Today, It's Tidbits
Nothing particularly meaty today. Just a few tidbits I find interesting.
- The death penalty in Mexico was officially abolished on Friday, December 9. The Mexican legal system has not executed anyone since 1961
- The Muslim Brotherhood took almost 20 percent of the Egyptian parliamentary elections, the results of which were published on December 9
- This is a great video clip...a dog apparently trained to feign anger at the encroachment of its own foot! (a fast connection is needed to view it--my DSL at home would never play it all the way through...it kept interrupting to download more of the file). There are lots of videos available to view at www.zippyvideos.com, for people who have nothing to do but watch mindless video clips...I was not the one who stumbled across this one. I found it, of all places, on the Al Jazeera website.
- According to a woman who is pursuing a doctorate in animal behavior, the sound of a dog panting is equivalent to a human laughing...and she has demonstrated that playing that reassuring sound over loadspeakers at an animal shelter reduced dogs' stress dramatically.
- You can get news from down-under online from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and from the Special Broadcasting Service.
- You can access current cloud-cover and rainfall reports on virtually any city in the world at www.fallingrain.com
- A beta test of a combination mapping/bird's eye view photo location software in available at http://local.live.com/. Type in an address (U.S. only), then you can select road or aerial view. Interesting. Fast connection helpful.
- I am going to New York City twice next year, the first time in January to particpate in a trade show and again in October for a client's annual conference. I've been astounded by the cost of hotels...and concerned that the $349 rate we got for the client conference was not low enough...until I read this article.
- On December 11, 1931, the Statute of Westminster gave complete legislative independence to the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
It's Like Saturday, But on a Smaller Scale
Like clockwork...here it is, about 4:30 on Saturday morning, and I'm up up and ready to face the day. I wish I had this energy and enthusiasm during the work week.
One of my brothers alerted me to a very interesting article about the Chilean social and political landscape in the December 9 edition of the New York Times. The article discusses the probability that Michelle Bachelet, a socialist and atheist, will be Chile's next president; yes, Chile, a very conservative Catholic country. The article was written by Rafael Gumucio, who's a columnist for El Diario in New York and for newspapers in Chile. It's really a fascinating article and I highly recommend it.
Today, rather than enjoy the day, my wife and I both have to spend the day in a strategic planning session for one of our clients, a local association. One of the first things the session will involve is a 'team-building' exercise. All of the participants were asked to complete a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator questionnaire in advance of the meeting. This will allow all of us to know how best to deal with others on the team. According to the MBTI, I am a "INTP." People with this personality type are described as:
Frankly, I don't care what MBTI says about my personality style. I'd rather spend the day doing something I enjoy, rather than sit cooped up in a room with people I barely know, talking about strategy for an organization that, deep down, I don't care about. And this is a client; their future matters to me and my company. I do believe I'm burned out. Well, I'd best not cry over spilled milk...it's a requirement for us to attend, and attend we shall.
Tonight, my wife and I go to see David Sedaris' 'Santaland Diaries.' Today's tight timing may not allow us to have Ethiopian food as we'd planned, which would be a shame because I'm ready for kitfo or gored-gored, but there's time for that tomorrow or in the days to come.
Enough of this...there's still time for me to have another cup of coffee and to scan a few online newspapers before we have to leave for our meeting...but not unless I sign off for now.
One of my brothers alerted me to a very interesting article about the Chilean social and political landscape in the December 9 edition of the New York Times. The article discusses the probability that Michelle Bachelet, a socialist and atheist, will be Chile's next president; yes, Chile, a very conservative Catholic country. The article was written by Rafael Gumucio, who's a columnist for El Diario in New York and for newspapers in Chile. It's really a fascinating article and I highly recommend it.
Today, rather than enjoy the day, my wife and I both have to spend the day in a strategic planning session for one of our clients, a local association. One of the first things the session will involve is a 'team-building' exercise. All of the participants were asked to complete a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator questionnaire in advance of the meeting. This will allow all of us to know how best to deal with others on the team. According to the MBTI, I am a "INTP." People with this personality type are described as:
Quiet and reserved. Especially enjoy theoretical or scientific pursuits. Like solving problems with logic and analysis. Usually interested mainly in ideas, with little liking for parties or small talk. Tend to have sharply defined interests. Need careers where some strong interest can be used and be useful.
Frankly, I don't care what MBTI says about my personality style. I'd rather spend the day doing something I enjoy, rather than sit cooped up in a room with people I barely know, talking about strategy for an organization that, deep down, I don't care about. And this is a client; their future matters to me and my company. I do believe I'm burned out. Well, I'd best not cry over spilled milk...it's a requirement for us to attend, and attend we shall.
Tonight, my wife and I go to see David Sedaris' 'Santaland Diaries.' Today's tight timing may not allow us to have Ethiopian food as we'd planned, which would be a shame because I'm ready for kitfo or gored-gored, but there's time for that tomorrow or in the days to come.
Enough of this...there's still time for me to have another cup of coffee and to scan a few online newspapers before we have to leave for our meeting...but not unless I sign off for now.
Friday, December 9, 2005
Rants, Ramblings, and Thieves
Anyone who has read my blog on a routine basis (and they are few and far between, I think), knows that I write in a sometimes disturbing stream of consciousness...one day I may talk politics, the next I may talk religion, the next I may curse mechanics for taking advantage of my lack of knowledge of what makes my car work, and the next I might write about my rose-colored view of rural life. I know it may suggest that I am schizophrenic...perhaps I am. I know it may suggest that I have undergone one too many lobotomies...maybe that's true, too. But I enjoy watching my thoughts flow from my fingers and I appreciate that, sometimes, my anger and outrage, and distrust of the world flow away, as well.
If you want consistency, this is not the place.
Today I encountered the blog of a woman who spent 6 months in the 'Red States' this year to find out what makes people vote the way they do. She is from San Francisco and decided it was time to emerge from her liberal bubble to see what the rest of the world was like. I posted a message to her blog, suggesting that her journey sounded like torture to me, a geezer turning more and more liberal (nay, socialist) every day. Her blog is at storiesinamerica.blogspot.com. You may find it interesting. I stumbled across it as I was Googling information about Chile...for some reason, Chile intrigues me more and more every day. She posted something about Chile's upcoming election for president and the candidate I wrote about recently who I believe, from Chilean news reports, is apt to be elected after a runoff with another candidate. Anyway...read it if you wish.
About a month ago (less, actually), I bought a new computer for a member of my staff...hers was a miserable hulk of useless metal and plastic. I bought it from Best Buy in Dallas. My advice: NEVER, EVER buy anything from Best Buy. Not only did the Geek Squad (really, that is the name of their tech support company) do a miserable job of installing needed spyware, virus protection, etc., they refuse to make good on fixing it or returning my money. Today, after much wrangling, I spoke to the GM of the store, who promised they would either fix the computer within 2 days or give me a replacement. Their 'policy' and their 'customer service staff' indicated I was out of luck; basically, they said, "tough shit." Even if they make it good, I will always, always, advice against doing any business with Best Buy. I think George Bush must be on their tech support team.
A woman who used to work for me was, I believe in my heart, a thief. She was also an incredible con artist. Members of the associations we manage loved her; they commented about her regularly and said how wonderful she was. But she stole money from me and from my clients. She was able to do that because I was trusting and had not put solid procedures in place to prevent it. My fault. But regardless of my failure, she is still a thief. I would like to beat her with a rubber hose until she screams in pain. And then I'd splash alcohol on her wounds and beat her again.
The thing that drives me crazy is that I could have known about her, if only I had conducted a criminal background check. See, I conducted one recently (long after I fired her for nonfinancial reasons), only to find that she has an extensive criminal record, mostly for forging checks and other financial crimes. The reason I conducted the check was that I got a call from an Oklahoma police detective, inquiring about her...she had stolen money from an Oklahoma employer, it seems, and they were looking for more dirt.
While she worked for me, more than $1500 disappeared from a client's cash and my company had to make good on it. I felt sure it was her, but couldn't prove it. And then I let her personality overcome me and I kept her on staff. I should use the rubber hose on myself, first.
But, what goes around comes around, they say. One way or the other, I will contribute to her getting her dues. I'd still like to use the rubber hose...or perhaps strangs of woven cable would be more interesting...
OK, I jest in all this...I'm increasingly feeling like a pacifist. But there are times that I get so utterly, completely pissed off that I could be the poster boy for gun control.
Enough blathering for today...
If you want consistency, this is not the place.
Today I encountered the blog of a woman who spent 6 months in the 'Red States' this year to find out what makes people vote the way they do. She is from San Francisco and decided it was time to emerge from her liberal bubble to see what the rest of the world was like. I posted a message to her blog, suggesting that her journey sounded like torture to me, a geezer turning more and more liberal (nay, socialist) every day. Her blog is at storiesinamerica.blogspot.com. You may find it interesting. I stumbled across it as I was Googling information about Chile...for some reason, Chile intrigues me more and more every day. She posted something about Chile's upcoming election for president and the candidate I wrote about recently who I believe, from Chilean news reports, is apt to be elected after a runoff with another candidate. Anyway...read it if you wish.
About a month ago (less, actually), I bought a new computer for a member of my staff...hers was a miserable hulk of useless metal and plastic. I bought it from Best Buy in Dallas. My advice: NEVER, EVER buy anything from Best Buy. Not only did the Geek Squad (really, that is the name of their tech support company) do a miserable job of installing needed spyware, virus protection, etc., they refuse to make good on fixing it or returning my money. Today, after much wrangling, I spoke to the GM of the store, who promised they would either fix the computer within 2 days or give me a replacement. Their 'policy' and their 'customer service staff' indicated I was out of luck; basically, they said, "tough shit." Even if they make it good, I will always, always, advice against doing any business with Best Buy. I think George Bush must be on their tech support team.
A woman who used to work for me was, I believe in my heart, a thief. She was also an incredible con artist. Members of the associations we manage loved her; they commented about her regularly and said how wonderful she was. But she stole money from me and from my clients. She was able to do that because I was trusting and had not put solid procedures in place to prevent it. My fault. But regardless of my failure, she is still a thief. I would like to beat her with a rubber hose until she screams in pain. And then I'd splash alcohol on her wounds and beat her again.
The thing that drives me crazy is that I could have known about her, if only I had conducted a criminal background check. See, I conducted one recently (long after I fired her for nonfinancial reasons), only to find that she has an extensive criminal record, mostly for forging checks and other financial crimes. The reason I conducted the check was that I got a call from an Oklahoma police detective, inquiring about her...she had stolen money from an Oklahoma employer, it seems, and they were looking for more dirt.
While she worked for me, more than $1500 disappeared from a client's cash and my company had to make good on it. I felt sure it was her, but couldn't prove it. And then I let her personality overcome me and I kept her on staff. I should use the rubber hose on myself, first.
But, what goes around comes around, they say. One way or the other, I will contribute to her getting her dues. I'd still like to use the rubber hose...or perhaps strangs of woven cable would be more interesting...
OK, I jest in all this...I'm increasingly feeling like a pacifist. But there are times that I get so utterly, completely pissed off that I could be the poster boy for gun control.
Enough blathering for today...
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Population Policy
The U.S Census estimates that, on December 1, 2005, the population of the earth was 6,482,257,297. That is beyond my comprehension...almost 6.5 BILLION people on the planet. What would it take for every one of those people to have material goods and medical care equivalent to the average American? Well, I can't help but think that it would take more resources than this earth can provide. Americans consume far too much...and there are too many of us. But there are far more people in China...not just in absolute terms, but with regard to people per square kilometer; 140+ in China, 32+ in the USA.
What else would it take to give everyone on earth the same standard of living as we enjoy in the USA? It could take the utter destruction of the atmosphere, as choking polution poured from millions of automobiles and factories producing massive amounts of goods spew their detritus into the atmosphere.
The point I'm trying to make is that we (Americans, the 'first world' in general) have been and continue to be arrogant consumers who have no real interest in sharing the wealth and largesse of the earth with anyone else. And we are so arrogant that we insist that our superior technologies will allow us to quench the thirst for material goods as the rest of the earth catches up with us in consumerism. This, despite the fact that petroleum reserves are being depleted. This, despite the fact that scientists have been providing evidence of impending disaster for a long, long time. It's not just an American problem, though; virtually every society ignores the need to do two important things: 1) set population targets (and establish supporting policies) at levels that would encourage low population density and 2) reduce consumption (again, through policies that encourage convervation) of natural resources.
I predict several things will happen to address our overpopulation of the earth and the rape of the planet. I don't know when, but I feel certain they will occur. Several massive depopulation events will take place; they may be wars over access to products, pandemics, genocides, religious wars...there are plenty of possibilities. These massive depopulation events will result in dramatic disruptions to or complete elimination of the power grid in many places and consequently in the inability to make or transport products.
How would this come about? Well, let's take an example. If the current fears about the bird flu pandemic were to materialize, enormous numbers of people would begin dying. The population would begin to retreat from social interaction...they would not go to work, they would not allow people to come to their homes, etc. So, the people necessary to keep the telecommunications system operational would not be available...the people who keep the power grid operating would not be willing to risk their lives going to work...the power grid and communications infrastructure would go down. Fear and frustration would rise rapidly...there would be no place to get food, no electricity, the water pumping and purification systems would be inoperable. Social order would break down very, very rapidly; governmental authorities would be unable to communicate and people would feel abandoned by their governments. More death would occur from starvation, thirst, murder, etc.
Society as we know it would effectively come to a halt. Only the strong and imaginative would survive. And they would survive on less than we eat today...they would survive without many of the amenities we take for granted. The world might not return to the middle ages, but it would be far less sophisticated than we have come to enjoy in the first few years of the 21st century.
I wish I knew whether humankind would, as a result of its shakeout, learn lessons...like keeping populations at sustainable levels, like behaving like reasonable beings with regard to their levels of consumption, like doing whatever is necessary to establish political and economic and social structures that prevent the insanity that grips the world today. I wonder if these calamities would be viewed, yet again, as God's will or would people finally abandon the crutch of religion and rely on reason and humanity instead?
One thing I think is certain; the population of the earth, if there is any population left, would be far closer to a sustainable level than it is at today. Are there solutions to the overpopulation of the planet? At this stage in the evolution of humankind, I think the only solutions left are similar to the ones I described above. Maybe I'm just a pessimist, but I think it is far too late for any rational, humanitarian, responsible solution. We have just insisted as a species on ignoring the problem and, even more arrogantly, insisting that it isn't there.
What else would it take to give everyone on earth the same standard of living as we enjoy in the USA? It could take the utter destruction of the atmosphere, as choking polution poured from millions of automobiles and factories producing massive amounts of goods spew their detritus into the atmosphere.
The point I'm trying to make is that we (Americans, the 'first world' in general) have been and continue to be arrogant consumers who have no real interest in sharing the wealth and largesse of the earth with anyone else. And we are so arrogant that we insist that our superior technologies will allow us to quench the thirst for material goods as the rest of the earth catches up with us in consumerism. This, despite the fact that petroleum reserves are being depleted. This, despite the fact that scientists have been providing evidence of impending disaster for a long, long time. It's not just an American problem, though; virtually every society ignores the need to do two important things: 1) set population targets (and establish supporting policies) at levels that would encourage low population density and 2) reduce consumption (again, through policies that encourage convervation) of natural resources.
I predict several things will happen to address our overpopulation of the earth and the rape of the planet. I don't know when, but I feel certain they will occur. Several massive depopulation events will take place; they may be wars over access to products, pandemics, genocides, religious wars...there are plenty of possibilities. These massive depopulation events will result in dramatic disruptions to or complete elimination of the power grid in many places and consequently in the inability to make or transport products.
How would this come about? Well, let's take an example. If the current fears about the bird flu pandemic were to materialize, enormous numbers of people would begin dying. The population would begin to retreat from social interaction...they would not go to work, they would not allow people to come to their homes, etc. So, the people necessary to keep the telecommunications system operational would not be available...the people who keep the power grid operating would not be willing to risk their lives going to work...the power grid and communications infrastructure would go down. Fear and frustration would rise rapidly...there would be no place to get food, no electricity, the water pumping and purification systems would be inoperable. Social order would break down very, very rapidly; governmental authorities would be unable to communicate and people would feel abandoned by their governments. More death would occur from starvation, thirst, murder, etc.
Society as we know it would effectively come to a halt. Only the strong and imaginative would survive. And they would survive on less than we eat today...they would survive without many of the amenities we take for granted. The world might not return to the middle ages, but it would be far less sophisticated than we have come to enjoy in the first few years of the 21st century.
I wish I knew whether humankind would, as a result of its shakeout, learn lessons...like keeping populations at sustainable levels, like behaving like reasonable beings with regard to their levels of consumption, like doing whatever is necessary to establish political and economic and social structures that prevent the insanity that grips the world today. I wonder if these calamities would be viewed, yet again, as God's will or would people finally abandon the crutch of religion and rely on reason and humanity instead?
One thing I think is certain; the population of the earth, if there is any population left, would be far closer to a sustainable level than it is at today. Are there solutions to the overpopulation of the planet? At this stage in the evolution of humankind, I think the only solutions left are similar to the ones I described above. Maybe I'm just a pessimist, but I think it is far too late for any rational, humanitarian, responsible solution. We have just insisted as a species on ignoring the problem and, even more arrogantly, insisting that it isn't there.
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
It's Cold...Very Cold! And Icy!
On Saturday, December 3, it was unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the 80s. Today, four days later, it's frigid. A cold front swept through last night, dropping temperatures into the 30s by this morning. The temperature has been dropping ever since. Forecasts called for sleet and freezing rain by this afternoon, so this morning I told my staff that I would shut the office early...but would wait to see how the weather progressed. I kept looking outside the windoe for signs of sleet, snow, or freezing rain. I saw a few snow flakes, a bit of sleet, but nothing that looked too bad. About 2:30 this afternoon, I decided I should shut down at 3:00 pm so that, were there any treacherous conditions on the way, we could avoid them...particularly in dark weather.
So, aat 3:00 pm most folks left. My wife and I stayed a bit (mostly because of me trying to finish up some odds & ends), as did another lady. By 3:25, I was ready to go, so we went outside...to find the car completely enveloped in a sheet of ice. I had taken the ice scraper out of the trunk this morning, so I pulled it out and scraped the windows...a very challenging task. Another woman who works in our building had come out about the same time and was parked nearby; as I was scraping our window, my wife went to offer my assistance in getting her windshield clear, which she appreciated. I cleared her windshield, then my wife suggested I do the same for our staff member, who remained inside. While I cleared her window, my wife called her on her cell phone, suggesting she leave soon because ice was building up.
The ride home was uneventful, until we reached a bridge over a creek. As the forecasters had prediced, it was covered in ice and was extremely dangerous...I hate driving on black ice. We were doing fine heading east, though, as everyone else in front of us and behind us was driving very, very carefully. People heading west, though, weren't as bright. Fortunately for us, a large concrete barrier separates the opposing traffic lanes. A car came sailing toward us, the driver oblivous to the fact that the bridge was covered in slick black ice. Immediately upon hitting the ice, the car started to skid; the driver responded by hitting the breaks, making the skid even worse. The car, a little white Japanese car, starting spinning around and the other cars following on the bridge behind it started skidding as the drivers hit their brakes. Fortunately, no one collided with another car...but the night is still young...I expect that bridge to be the site of many crashes tonight, unless the road crews slather the bridges with sand and salt.
We're in for the night. I'm having a toddy and am eagerly awaiting our roast cauliflower and carrot soup...a spicy Indian soup, the recipe for which my wife found on the internet. My wife is doing the cooking tonight...I anticpate a wonderful hot soup on a very cold night! This is chile season. I really want to have a great chile cookoff like we did at the office (last year?). My wife made wonderful stuff...mine was good, but not like hers. All worth trying, though. And this weather is positively SCREAMING at me to cook some chile. Here's a thought...maybe I could make Chile using Ethiopian spices! I don't remember if I 've written about finding the Ethiopian spice website. If not, my link will enable you to see all the interesting things they offer.
Stay warm...or at least comfortable!
So, aat 3:00 pm most folks left. My wife and I stayed a bit (mostly because of me trying to finish up some odds & ends), as did another lady. By 3:25, I was ready to go, so we went outside...to find the car completely enveloped in a sheet of ice. I had taken the ice scraper out of the trunk this morning, so I pulled it out and scraped the windows...a very challenging task. Another woman who works in our building had come out about the same time and was parked nearby; as I was scraping our window, my wife went to offer my assistance in getting her windshield clear, which she appreciated. I cleared her windshield, then my wife suggested I do the same for our staff member, who remained inside. While I cleared her window, my wife called her on her cell phone, suggesting she leave soon because ice was building up.
The ride home was uneventful, until we reached a bridge over a creek. As the forecasters had prediced, it was covered in ice and was extremely dangerous...I hate driving on black ice. We were doing fine heading east, though, as everyone else in front of us and behind us was driving very, very carefully. People heading west, though, weren't as bright. Fortunately for us, a large concrete barrier separates the opposing traffic lanes. A car came sailing toward us, the driver oblivous to the fact that the bridge was covered in slick black ice. Immediately upon hitting the ice, the car started to skid; the driver responded by hitting the breaks, making the skid even worse. The car, a little white Japanese car, starting spinning around and the other cars following on the bridge behind it started skidding as the drivers hit their brakes. Fortunately, no one collided with another car...but the night is still young...I expect that bridge to be the site of many crashes tonight, unless the road crews slather the bridges with sand and salt.
We're in for the night. I'm having a toddy and am eagerly awaiting our roast cauliflower and carrot soup...a spicy Indian soup, the recipe for which my wife found on the internet. My wife is doing the cooking tonight...I anticpate a wonderful hot soup on a very cold night! This is chile season. I really want to have a great chile cookoff like we did at the office (last year?). My wife made wonderful stuff...mine was good, but not like hers. All worth trying, though. And this weather is positively SCREAMING at me to cook some chile. Here's a thought...maybe I could make Chile using Ethiopian spices! I don't remember if I 've written about finding the Ethiopian spice website. If not, my link will enable you to see all the interesting things they offer.
Stay warm...or at least comfortable!
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
An Interesting Film
Last night, my wife and I watched a video that I have been wanting to see for months and months (but someone had checked out Blockbuster's only copy and kept it for, literally, months). It was finally returned, and we snatched it up when we saw it in the store. The movie is an Icelandic production, entitled Nói (pronounced 'noy') [I think the full title is Nói Albínói.] It's about a 17-year-old kid named Nói who is very bright, but who doesn't have any interest in school. He gets into trouble, mostly not serious, at school on a regular basis, usually because of excessive absences. His n'er-do-well father is a bit of a drunk, but a nice-enough guy; he does not live with his father, though, he lives with his grandmother, an odd old duck who shoots a shotgun out of his bedroom window in an early scene in the movie to awaken him in time to go to school.
Nói dreams of escaping the remoteness of Iceland and he wishes he could find his way, along with a young lady who the viewer is led to believe is his first and only girlfriend. But he fails at every attempt to improve his lot in life, and the people who could intervene in a meaningful way fail him, as well. They seem to think he's a bit 'off,' but not sufficiently so to warrant doing anything of consequence to help or restrain him.
I won't give anything more away. It's a very slow-moving film, but I believe it's worth dealing with the slow pace to watch it; the slow pace is, in part, what makes it really very interesting. I've found a few bits and pieces about the film online, in case you have an interest in learning more:
Summary & review
Another one
Another, from Rotten Tomatoes
Incidentally, the movie is in Icelandic, with English subtitles.
Nói dreams of escaping the remoteness of Iceland and he wishes he could find his way, along with a young lady who the viewer is led to believe is his first and only girlfriend. But he fails at every attempt to improve his lot in life, and the people who could intervene in a meaningful way fail him, as well. They seem to think he's a bit 'off,' but not sufficiently so to warrant doing anything of consequence to help or restrain him.
I won't give anything more away. It's a very slow-moving film, but I believe it's worth dealing with the slow pace to watch it; the slow pace is, in part, what makes it really very interesting. I've found a few bits and pieces about the film online, in case you have an interest in learning more:
Summary & review
Another one
Another, from Rotten Tomatoes
Incidentally, the movie is in Icelandic, with English subtitles.
American Hiroshima
David Dionisi is a former U.S. intelligence officer. From what I have read, he was once a solid Republican. Now, though, he is a very different person. I just read an interview with him published on the Al Jazeera website. I also read an interview published in May this year in the Davis Enterprise in California.
If the American people would simply be willing to listen to what people around the world, even domestically, are saying about our policies, if we would just acknowledge our horrendous history and take action to correct our many, many, many mistakes, the horrors of war, terrorism, and the like could be drastically reduced. Dionisi's book, American Hiroshima, sounds to me like required reading.
If the American people would simply be willing to listen to what people around the world, even domestically, are saying about our policies, if we would just acknowledge our horrendous history and take action to correct our many, many, many mistakes, the horrors of war, terrorism, and the like could be drastically reduced. Dionisi's book, American Hiroshima, sounds to me like required reading.
Monday, December 5, 2005
So Certain...But Then Again...Maybe Not
Second post today...maybe I'm in another productive period...
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My mind can change in an instant. I can revert from rabid atheist to wishful agnostic in a heartbeat. I can go from miltant death penalty proponent to weeping bleeding-heart liberal in the blink of an eye. My sensitivities can switch between hard-nosed, skeptical, distrusting employer to union-boosting socialist in a butterfly's breath. I am nothing, if not wishy-washy. But, By God, I am utterly certain about my opinions for as long as I hold them!
Either I am susceptible to persuasive, logical arguments or my attitudes and opinions are shaped by emotional manipulation. Naturally, I'd prefer the former, but the latter is probably responsible, in part, to the shifting tides of my beliefs. I am experiencing the world as a teenager experiences the world; looking for my own personality, but shaped by so many others' viewpoints. I'm going through my second puberty, I think, forty years late.
I didn't hear Norman Corwin's 'This I Believe' program on NPR last April, but I think I heard him being interviewed by Terry Gross recently on Fresh Air. I wrote recently about someone whose impromptu obituary prompted my own bizzare blog recently; I cannot find confirmation on the NPR website that it was Norman Corwin, but I think it was. Anyway, I found his 'This I Believe' comments to be so right.
I'm certain I find the policies of the United States utterly reprehensible...punishing to developing countries and their peoples, arrogant and self-aggrandizing. I'm certain I enjoy the benefits of living in this immoral society...I have material wealth (far less than many here, but I have more than most in developing companies anyway) and I like it and don't want to abandon it.
I'm certain I feel embarrassed and ashamed of being so comfortable, but I'm equally sure I don't want to give it up so I can help bring 90 Nigerian families to a level of wealth they cannot even dream of. How can I feel shame for my country, when I cannot act on the shame I feel about my own unwillingness to contribute to the greater good?
I wish I could either abandon my pretenses and simply enjoy my luxuries without regard for people who are starving, or that I could become the kind of person I wish we all were, and share my largesse with those who need it far more than I.
I'm certain I want to change...but maybe not.
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My mind can change in an instant. I can revert from rabid atheist to wishful agnostic in a heartbeat. I can go from miltant death penalty proponent to weeping bleeding-heart liberal in the blink of an eye. My sensitivities can switch between hard-nosed, skeptical, distrusting employer to union-boosting socialist in a butterfly's breath. I am nothing, if not wishy-washy. But, By God, I am utterly certain about my opinions for as long as I hold them!
Either I am susceptible to persuasive, logical arguments or my attitudes and opinions are shaped by emotional manipulation. Naturally, I'd prefer the former, but the latter is probably responsible, in part, to the shifting tides of my beliefs. I am experiencing the world as a teenager experiences the world; looking for my own personality, but shaped by so many others' viewpoints. I'm going through my second puberty, I think, forty years late.
I didn't hear Norman Corwin's 'This I Believe' program on NPR last April, but I think I heard him being interviewed by Terry Gross recently on Fresh Air. I wrote recently about someone whose impromptu obituary prompted my own bizzare blog recently; I cannot find confirmation on the NPR website that it was Norman Corwin, but I think it was. Anyway, I found his 'This I Believe' comments to be so right.
I'm certain I find the policies of the United States utterly reprehensible...punishing to developing countries and their peoples, arrogant and self-aggrandizing. I'm certain I enjoy the benefits of living in this immoral society...I have material wealth (far less than many here, but I have more than most in developing companies anyway) and I like it and don't want to abandon it.
I'm certain I feel embarrassed and ashamed of being so comfortable, but I'm equally sure I don't want to give it up so I can help bring 90 Nigerian families to a level of wealth they cannot even dream of. How can I feel shame for my country, when I cannot act on the shame I feel about my own unwillingness to contribute to the greater good?
I wish I could either abandon my pretenses and simply enjoy my luxuries without regard for people who are starving, or that I could become the kind of person I wish we all were, and share my largesse with those who need it far more than I.
I'm certain I want to change...but maybe not.
Ideology and Chile...more or less unrelated comments
I've been reading assessments of the modern world's economic and social agendas from the perspectives of people who live outside the United States and whose perspectives I trust more than I trust this country's political leaders. The perspectives I have been reading are offered by people who seem very bright and whose arguments about globalization, imperialism, and the United States' real global agenda seem more and more believable to me. I have for too long not questioned the U.S. media as I believe I should; I have believed what it reports. In many cases, I think the media reports what it believes is accurate, but its portrayals of 'reality' are based on the media's perception of the world in which it lives. And that perception is based on the media's belief in some of the fundamental 'facts' presented by the government of this country...not just the current government, but the government of past administrations, Republican and Democratic alike. One piece I've read recently was eye-opening to me, though I will admit to an equal amount of skepticism about far-left-leaning positions as to far-right-leaning positions. The piece to which I refer was written by James Petras, (click here to open it). Another piece, also from Counterpunch, suggests another case of media myopia; Norman Solomon wrote today that the U.S. is working on drawing down troop strength in Iraq, while simultaneously planning a massively enhanced air war. Is the media simply blind, or is it complicit?
Now, on to Chile. In Chile, a Socialist (Ricardo Lagos) is president, leading the center-left Concertación coalition. His successor is very likely to be Michelle Bachelet, also of the Concertación coalition; according to English-language media from Santiago, there is likely to be a run-off, but Bachelet is highly favored to be elected. If so, she will be the first female president of a Latin American country, proving yet again that the United States lags behind its so-called 'third world' counterparts. I don't think anyone would argue that Chile is the model democracy, but it is improving the lot of its citizens. I like much of what I hear about Chile. But I don't like what I hear about the air pollution in Santiago...it's said to be horrible. But Michelle Bachelet apparently has in mind focusing attention on pollution issues early on, which is a good thing.
Now, on to Chile. In Chile, a Socialist (Ricardo Lagos) is president, leading the center-left Concertación coalition. His successor is very likely to be Michelle Bachelet, also of the Concertación coalition; according to English-language media from Santiago, there is likely to be a run-off, but Bachelet is highly favored to be elected. If so, she will be the first female president of a Latin American country, proving yet again that the United States lags behind its so-called 'third world' counterparts. I don't think anyone would argue that Chile is the model democracy, but it is improving the lot of its citizens. I like much of what I hear about Chile. But I don't like what I hear about the air pollution in Santiago...it's said to be horrible. But Michelle Bachelet apparently has in mind focusing attention on pollution issues early on, which is a good thing.
Sunday, December 4, 2005
International News
Here's a sampling of what I found when I took a look this morning at headlines of various English-language newspaper and news center websites based in other countries:
Some times, I think the English-language versions of news I find on the internet do not give a true picture of the viewpoints of other cultures. Not sure just how to get that.
- China Daily says Chinese economy to grow by 9.4% this year(if you click on the link, you'll be asked if you want to install language pack...I chose to cancel/ignore)
- Majorca [Spain] Daily Bulletin says high winds have interfered with shipping in the Balearics.
- The Straits [Singapore] Times says tens of thousands of protestors marched in Hong Kong for Hong Kong democracy
- The Jerusalem Post said Sharon offered Peres his pick of appointments
- The Moscow News reports on an interview with Shukhrat Masirokhunov, awaiting trial on charges of terrorism in connection with the attacks in Andizhan of May, 12-13, 2005.
- The Globe & Mail [Canada] reports that NDP leader Jack Layton says Canada should threaten tariffs on oil and gas exports to the United States as a way of dealing with the ongoing softwood lumber battle.
- El Universal [Venezeuela] reports on meetings between Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his Argentinian and Columbian counterparts, designed to send messages of unity against the U.S. actions to stop the sale of jet fighters from Spain to Venezuela.
- The Sophia Echo [Bulgaria] reports that Bulgarian ministers have to accept at least two EU-related measures daily during the coming year, to meet the requirements for Bulgaria to join the EU as scheduled on January 1 2007.
- The Guadalajara Reporter [Mexico] reports that the three top contenders for the country's presidency spoke at the same event (American Chamber's annual convention in Mexico city), but that probably most people in the audience wanted to hear what Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), the left-leaning frontrunner, had to say.
- The Times of London reports that Major-General Peter Wall faces criminal charges relating to alleged attempts by officers to prevent an investigation into the deaths of a British tank commander and an unarmed Iraqi civilian.
- Aljazeera reports that a large crowd at the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf hurled sandals and shoes at Iyad Allawi - what they say is a grave insult in the Iraqi culture.
Some times, I think the English-language versions of news I find on the internet do not give a true picture of the viewpoints of other cultures. Not sure just how to get that.
Saturday, December 3, 2005
Ethiopian Food Again
My wife and I discovered, a number of years ago, that we like Ethiopian food. Our first taste of Ethiopian food was in Chicago, when we went with friends to an Ethiopian restaurant on the north side of the city. I still remember what I had: zil zil tibse, strips of beef marinated in a very spicy butter-based sauce.
Since then, we've eaten at a few Ethiopian places in Dallas, but they tend not to last. The first place we ate at in Dallas was called Queen of Sheba and they had wonderful food...and a very nice staff. But one day when we went there for dinner, it was gone! Then, another place popped up in the seedier section of North Dallas/Garland, and it too had good food, but it was gone in a flash, as well. We went there with my nephew and, among the the dishes we had, gored-gored was one of our favorites...or maybe it was kitfo. I can't decide which was which. The one I liked was made of raw chunks of beef in a very, very spicy sauce. The waitress asked repeatedly if we were sure we wanted raw meat...hard to convince her, but she finally acquiesced. The place closed, though...so we found another, but we were concerned that it, too, would close because we had visited it. We felt some sense of responsibility for putting all the Ethiopian restaurants in Dallas out of business simply by visiting.
Anyway, Queen of Sheba just came back...same owners, so we assume the food is the same. We hope. I stopped by today to pick up a menu. Sure enough, zil zil tibse, kitfo, gored-gored, and another old favorite, doro wott, are all on the menu. My wife and I have tickets to a play in mid-December in Addison, and we discussed tonight having dinner at Queen of Sheba that night. I'm ready to go there for breakfast tomorrow! But they are not open for breakfast.
Most Ethiopian foods are, in my admittedly limited experience, rather spicy, though not necessarily hot. I like the hot stuff, but it doesn't have to be hot for me to like it. Oh, I'm looking forward to eating Ethiopian food again! The food is served on large platters, which are covered with a large piece of injera bread (a sponge-like, thin bread that tears easily). The food ordered is placed in little piles on the injera bread; you then tear up pieces of injera bread that is delivered separately, using the bread as a utensil to pick up morsels of the food. It's delightful!
I think I've written about Ethiopian food on my blog before. Such is life. I am limited in my experiences; just a dull guy.
I can't remember the names, but there are a couple of Ethiopian restaurants (at least) in the Adams Morgan district of Washington, DC that are superb...in case you're in the area!
Since then, we've eaten at a few Ethiopian places in Dallas, but they tend not to last. The first place we ate at in Dallas was called Queen of Sheba and they had wonderful food...and a very nice staff. But one day when we went there for dinner, it was gone! Then, another place popped up in the seedier section of North Dallas/Garland, and it too had good food, but it was gone in a flash, as well. We went there with my nephew and, among the the dishes we had, gored-gored was one of our favorites...or maybe it was kitfo. I can't decide which was which. The one I liked was made of raw chunks of beef in a very, very spicy sauce. The waitress asked repeatedly if we were sure we wanted raw meat...hard to convince her, but she finally acquiesced. The place closed, though...so we found another, but we were concerned that it, too, would close because we had visited it. We felt some sense of responsibility for putting all the Ethiopian restaurants in Dallas out of business simply by visiting.
Anyway, Queen of Sheba just came back...same owners, so we assume the food is the same. We hope. I stopped by today to pick up a menu. Sure enough, zil zil tibse, kitfo, gored-gored, and another old favorite, doro wott, are all on the menu. My wife and I have tickets to a play in mid-December in Addison, and we discussed tonight having dinner at Queen of Sheba that night. I'm ready to go there for breakfast tomorrow! But they are not open for breakfast.
Most Ethiopian foods are, in my admittedly limited experience, rather spicy, though not necessarily hot. I like the hot stuff, but it doesn't have to be hot for me to like it. Oh, I'm looking forward to eating Ethiopian food again! The food is served on large platters, which are covered with a large piece of injera bread (a sponge-like, thin bread that tears easily). The food ordered is placed in little piles on the injera bread; you then tear up pieces of injera bread that is delivered separately, using the bread as a utensil to pick up morsels of the food. It's delightful!
I think I've written about Ethiopian food on my blog before. Such is life. I am limited in my experiences; just a dull guy.
I can't remember the names, but there are a couple of Ethiopian restaurants (at least) in the Adams Morgan district of Washington, DC that are superb...in case you're in the area!
The Price of Transportation
My Avalon has been repaired, at enormous cost, and should...better...last at least another year or two or three. I want it to be reliable, not simply last. That is key.
The repairs were finished on Thursday afternoon. New front struts, front & rear brake pads, new timing belt, new power steering line to replace the leaking line, new rack & pinion to replace the blown one on the front right side, new water pump...lots of stuff. When I noticed the 'check engine' light come on yesterday morning on the way to work, it annoyed me...I assumed something had not be put back together correctly. I stopped by the garage and they gave me ride to work. The service manager called later to tell me the bad news; the problem had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with what they had done to my car, it was just an unfortunate coincidence that an oxygen sensor, a $300+ repair, had gone bad. Needless to say, I was very, very skeptical. After an extended conversation with the guy, he asked if I wanted them to pick up the entire cost...would that make me feel better? I said yes. He said it was important that I understand that it had nothing to do with their work...it was just coincidental. Frankly, I don't know whether it was or not, but the guy had convinced me to have the work done, rather than ditch my car, by telling me my investment in the car would be worthwhile and it would keep on running for a long, long time. So, his willingness to eat the cost was just fine...regardless of whether it was coincidental or not.
I've added independent Japanese auto repair shops to my list of people and organizations not to trust.
It's just after 6:00 am and I've been up for almost two hours...it's odd, so easy to get up on the weekends, very early, and so tough to drag myself out of bed during the workweek.
The repairs were finished on Thursday afternoon. New front struts, front & rear brake pads, new timing belt, new power steering line to replace the leaking line, new rack & pinion to replace the blown one on the front right side, new water pump...lots of stuff. When I noticed the 'check engine' light come on yesterday morning on the way to work, it annoyed me...I assumed something had not be put back together correctly. I stopped by the garage and they gave me ride to work. The service manager called later to tell me the bad news; the problem had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with what they had done to my car, it was just an unfortunate coincidence that an oxygen sensor, a $300+ repair, had gone bad. Needless to say, I was very, very skeptical. After an extended conversation with the guy, he asked if I wanted them to pick up the entire cost...would that make me feel better? I said yes. He said it was important that I understand that it had nothing to do with their work...it was just coincidental. Frankly, I don't know whether it was or not, but the guy had convinced me to have the work done, rather than ditch my car, by telling me my investment in the car would be worthwhile and it would keep on running for a long, long time. So, his willingness to eat the cost was just fine...regardless of whether it was coincidental or not.
I've added independent Japanese auto repair shops to my list of people and organizations not to trust.
It's just after 6:00 am and I've been up for almost two hours...it's odd, so easy to get up on the weekends, very early, and so tough to drag myself out of bed during the workweek.
Friday, December 2, 2005
Up from the Bad Days
Old people. Old people looking for the perfect 'out' in the streets of Mexico. They weren't really old. They were middle-aged, some even younger. But they wanted out of the American dream. Or, rather, they wanted out of the dream articulated by The Idiot.
It was a a good day, though none of us felt like we should celebrate, at least not at the start. Early in the day, The Idiot had vomited his stupid platitudes and had promised that the American dream was on the cusp of fulfillment. By day's end, though, The Idiot was sitting on the side of a gritty Mexican street; he looked like someone had fed him drugs or alcohol, but it was he who had done it to himself. People passing by could have offered to help, but brief hesitations were all he got. He was the bastard who took their future. Angry old people have very, very sharp claws. It was obvious to the viejos what had to be done; decapitate the bastard and launch a celebration! But they had to be careful. No one could know where he died, because the others would start to explore the place and then...it would be over. It was bad enough what he did. It would have been worse if the others knew.
Up at 5 a.m. the next day, the Geezers, as they called themselves, transported his lifeless body through the dark streets of the tiny Mexican village. No one was the wiser, not even the old Mexican servants who lived there. The old woman leaning on the lightpole, sleeping intermittently, heard them pass, but she didn't bother to acknowledge them or to call attention to their presence. They were, after all, people with money, and they shared their money with her. She didn't notice that the Geezers were transporting a body, or what could be a body, and she didn't care. Through the old iron gates of a compound off the main road, the body in its ugly makeshift coffin was passed from one van to another, as knowing glances were exchanged by the old men whose vans had been placed into service that night. The body reached its final domestic destination and the other American took over. He would drive the van into the U.S. and take the body to Dallas and beyond.
The American pulled his seatbelts tight, slipped the Greg Brown disk into the CD player, and started his trek north. The night was empty, the highway was emptier still. He had to stay awake, so he lowered the window and put his left arm out to the side of the car, directing the crisp breeze with his hands to blow into his face.
Hours later, the border was in sight. U.S. Immigration and the Customs Service can both spell the end of the line for the American. One wrong move, one mispoken word here could end the odyssey. It's imperative; do not act nervous, but don't attempt to act too nonchalant. The dogs, the men in their sharp pressed uniforms, even the men selling flavored shaved ice, all of them, they can smell fear and nerves. The dogs will smell your fear, they always do, but it won't matter. They will know only that you are afraid, as everyone crossing the border is, but they won't know you are transporting The Idiot.
Once you cross the border, you mmove quickly toward San Antonio, then north toward Dallas. You want coffee, but there will bed no stopping this trip. Never stop, because that can be the end of you; the body in the trunk can mean a murder rap for you, no matter that The Idiot died from choking on his own vomit and no matter that you didn't decapitate the bastard. It doesn't matter, if they catch you, you are to blame.
You pull into the parking lot of an abandoned K-Mart store just after 2:00 am and shut off your engine. The new driver knows the body is there, waiting, but he hesitates, wondering why you drove so long, so far, to bring it back.
As the driver takes The Idiot from your trunk into his van, he asks what happened. "What do you think? The asshole drank himself to death. He was just lying to us about himself. We should have known better."
The American left the body and the new driver and found a bar. The patrons were bikers who echoed the attitudes of The Idiot, but they tried their best to present themselves as smart. Geezers know, though, so the American gave the bikers the finger and found another place, this one a folk music pub that served a variety of ales and lots of liquor. The American Geezer threw down a few drinks, then tried his hand at beating the locals with pool cues. Geezers can be stupid. Locals can be unforgiving. It had been his last trip.
It was a a good day, though none of us felt like we should celebrate, at least not at the start. Early in the day, The Idiot had vomited his stupid platitudes and had promised that the American dream was on the cusp of fulfillment. By day's end, though, The Idiot was sitting on the side of a gritty Mexican street; he looked like someone had fed him drugs or alcohol, but it was he who had done it to himself. People passing by could have offered to help, but brief hesitations were all he got. He was the bastard who took their future. Angry old people have very, very sharp claws. It was obvious to the viejos what had to be done; decapitate the bastard and launch a celebration! But they had to be careful. No one could know where he died, because the others would start to explore the place and then...it would be over. It was bad enough what he did. It would have been worse if the others knew.
Up at 5 a.m. the next day, the Geezers, as they called themselves, transported his lifeless body through the dark streets of the tiny Mexican village. No one was the wiser, not even the old Mexican servants who lived there. The old woman leaning on the lightpole, sleeping intermittently, heard them pass, but she didn't bother to acknowledge them or to call attention to their presence. They were, after all, people with money, and they shared their money with her. She didn't notice that the Geezers were transporting a body, or what could be a body, and she didn't care. Through the old iron gates of a compound off the main road, the body in its ugly makeshift coffin was passed from one van to another, as knowing glances were exchanged by the old men whose vans had been placed into service that night. The body reached its final domestic destination and the other American took over. He would drive the van into the U.S. and take the body to Dallas and beyond.
The American pulled his seatbelts tight, slipped the Greg Brown disk into the CD player, and started his trek north. The night was empty, the highway was emptier still. He had to stay awake, so he lowered the window and put his left arm out to the side of the car, directing the crisp breeze with his hands to blow into his face.
Hours later, the border was in sight. U.S. Immigration and the Customs Service can both spell the end of the line for the American. One wrong move, one mispoken word here could end the odyssey. It's imperative; do not act nervous, but don't attempt to act too nonchalant. The dogs, the men in their sharp pressed uniforms, even the men selling flavored shaved ice, all of them, they can smell fear and nerves. The dogs will smell your fear, they always do, but it won't matter. They will know only that you are afraid, as everyone crossing the border is, but they won't know you are transporting The Idiot.
Once you cross the border, you mmove quickly toward San Antonio, then north toward Dallas. You want coffee, but there will bed no stopping this trip. Never stop, because that can be the end of you; the body in the trunk can mean a murder rap for you, no matter that The Idiot died from choking on his own vomit and no matter that you didn't decapitate the bastard. It doesn't matter, if they catch you, you are to blame.
You pull into the parking lot of an abandoned K-Mart store just after 2:00 am and shut off your engine. The new driver knows the body is there, waiting, but he hesitates, wondering why you drove so long, so far, to bring it back.
As the driver takes The Idiot from your trunk into his van, he asks what happened. "What do you think? The asshole drank himself to death. He was just lying to us about himself. We should have known better."
The American left the body and the new driver and found a bar. The patrons were bikers who echoed the attitudes of The Idiot, but they tried their best to present themselves as smart. Geezers know, though, so the American gave the bikers the finger and found another place, this one a folk music pub that served a variety of ales and lots of liquor. The American Geezer threw down a few drinks, then tried his hand at beating the locals with pool cues. Geezers can be stupid. Locals can be unforgiving. It had been his last trip.
Thursday, December 1, 2005
Reading About Mexico...and other issues
I've been reading alot about Mexico...at least about what is involved with moving there, retiring there, etc. One of my brothers and his wife have already made the move and they will be great resources for me, but I'm reading about it, as well, getting other perspectives. The people who have written what I've read are almost fanatic about it...it's the best thing has ever happened to them, etc. I like the idea that, with sufficient planning and research, it may be possible to live there comfortably with a very modest amount of money. A woman who has lived in Guadalajara for several years finds it very affordable on her Social Security income. She likes it better than the more heavily 'Americanized' areas around Lake Chapala. Others seem to prefer 'Lakeside' to live, but like the fact that Guadalajara and its shopping, cosmopolitan atmosphere, etc. is close by. Others who write about San Miguel de Allende are equally rabid...they either love it or they find it to be a place dominated by Americans who speak no Spanish.
My reading about living in Mexico is not an indication that I will move there. I have a wife who may not have the same degree of interest as I. I do not speak Spanish, but have a command of enough words and pronunciation skills that I think I could learn enough to be able to communicate reasonably well. My wife speaks none and, as far as I know, has no interest in learning Spanish. We'll see, in time, I suppose. I'd rather not wait until I'm of 'retirement' age, though. I'm ready to start planning now, with a goal of 3 years hence, to be retired in some form or fashion...living less lavishly, living frugally even, is fine with me. I'm just feeling 'done' with work, at least the work I am doing. I own the company. The question is, "Why?" I make less than I did when I worked for someone else...but I DO like being in control. I am a control freak, I guess.
I've also been looking longingly at information about moving to the Santiago, Chile region. Lots of interesting stuff there, I've found. Not nearly the American support population, but there are Americans down there, getting along fine, not being persecuted simply because their president is an asshole.
Living in the United States is less and less appealing to me. Regardless of the party in power after Bush vacates the White House, this country's policies are too deeply embedded to change fast enough to suit me. I'm not really in to revolution, because revolutions are apt to be too bloody or too shocking to the system, but unless there is a revolution here, this country has no hope for the long haul. I suppose I believe in getting out while the getting is good. Radical Islam is apt to be taking over large portions of the land mass of this planet, and I have no tolerance for that, nor for fighting it. Isolationism, in the right place, seems so very, very appealing. Of course, I realize that is very selfish, but what the hell...I've a geezer...I've earned the right to be selfish, or at least curmudgeonly about my take on global society.
Besides being enamored with the idea of starting a new life somewhere else, I'm enamored of starting new businesses. My political and economic and social ideas are sometimes in opposition to one another. Over lunch with our staff the other day, I mentioned an idea that I thought had merit: set up a commercial-grade kitchen and a reasonably good-sized dining area and rent the space to people who want to show off their culinary skills but don't have the equipment and space. As usual, it wasn't an original idea. A guy in Austin has established a company called "Just Add Chef," which does just what I had in mind. My meeting planner, whose son is a restauranteur, knows the guy. I decided to contact him to inquire about how he does it...not sure just why, since I do not have the resources to replicate it in Dallas. Anyway, he finally called me back today...left a voice mail for me. I might pursue with him the idea of franchising the concept. Anyone reading this blog have money to invest? I'm ready to bring you in as part of this equation!
My reading about living in Mexico is not an indication that I will move there. I have a wife who may not have the same degree of interest as I. I do not speak Spanish, but have a command of enough words and pronunciation skills that I think I could learn enough to be able to communicate reasonably well. My wife speaks none and, as far as I know, has no interest in learning Spanish. We'll see, in time, I suppose. I'd rather not wait until I'm of 'retirement' age, though. I'm ready to start planning now, with a goal of 3 years hence, to be retired in some form or fashion...living less lavishly, living frugally even, is fine with me. I'm just feeling 'done' with work, at least the work I am doing. I own the company. The question is, "Why?" I make less than I did when I worked for someone else...but I DO like being in control. I am a control freak, I guess.
I've also been looking longingly at information about moving to the Santiago, Chile region. Lots of interesting stuff there, I've found. Not nearly the American support population, but there are Americans down there, getting along fine, not being persecuted simply because their president is an asshole.
Living in the United States is less and less appealing to me. Regardless of the party in power after Bush vacates the White House, this country's policies are too deeply embedded to change fast enough to suit me. I'm not really in to revolution, because revolutions are apt to be too bloody or too shocking to the system, but unless there is a revolution here, this country has no hope for the long haul. I suppose I believe in getting out while the getting is good. Radical Islam is apt to be taking over large portions of the land mass of this planet, and I have no tolerance for that, nor for fighting it. Isolationism, in the right place, seems so very, very appealing. Of course, I realize that is very selfish, but what the hell...I've a geezer...I've earned the right to be selfish, or at least curmudgeonly about my take on global society.
Besides being enamored with the idea of starting a new life somewhere else, I'm enamored of starting new businesses. My political and economic and social ideas are sometimes in opposition to one another. Over lunch with our staff the other day, I mentioned an idea that I thought had merit: set up a commercial-grade kitchen and a reasonably good-sized dining area and rent the space to people who want to show off their culinary skills but don't have the equipment and space. As usual, it wasn't an original idea. A guy in Austin has established a company called "Just Add Chef," which does just what I had in mind. My meeting planner, whose son is a restauranteur, knows the guy. I decided to contact him to inquire about how he does it...not sure just why, since I do not have the resources to replicate it in Dallas. Anyway, he finally called me back today...left a voice mail for me. I might pursue with him the idea of franchising the concept. Anyone reading this blog have money to invest? I'm ready to bring you in as part of this equation!