While she cuddles and pets
cute, clean piglet, he sucks diamond
engagement ring from her finger.
I know this will sound idiotic, but I am quite proud of myself for going all day and night yesterday without once watching TV or getting on the internet. This was not entirely voluntary as it did involve losing a transmission, having to rent a car, then waiting for someone to come rescue us. But really, this must be the first time in years I have managed to avoid the idiot box and the computer. It took me back to my New Guinea days when there were no such things.
Speaking of idiocy, it seems to me that American politics has reached a new low. The arguments being marshaled against health care reform are so idiotic it defies belief. And the fact that they are being treated seriously by the media, rather than being ignored or just laughed off, is even more idiotic. Socialized medicine, death panels, sex change operations, euthanasia, and the best health care in the world, are not serious arguments against reforming health care. They are simply nonsense. But these are exactly the arguments being shouted at our town meetings, over and over again by people whose goal is to prevent “any changes at all in health care.” The MSM should make this clear to the public, but they don’t, as they are part of the conspiracy to stop health care reform at any cost. It may be the case that some people are stupid enough to believe these lies, and because they are stupid enough to believe them, may also be acting in good faith, other than simply being rewarded for their rude and disgusting behavior, but that doesn’t mean their objections have merit. The result of this, no matter what the individual motives, is to prevent serious debate on the issues involved. These unwarranted attempts at intimidation by preventing serious deliberation are not politics as usual, they are fascist tactics, plain and simple. Even Rachel Maddow tonight said at one point “they have a right to attend meetings and shout and object...,” but I disagree entirely. They have a right to attend meetings, and they have a right to object, but they do not have a right to keep others from having a serious meeting and exercising their rights of free speech by shouting down and intimidating other people. I think I am detecting in Maddow a level of frustration so great she is having trouble even discussing it further. After all, there is nothing one can say about what is going on other than it is completely un-American as well as totally idiotic.
Idiocy on the part of some members of the general public is one thing, but idiocy at the highest levels of government is quite another. Now there are calls for an additional 40,000 troops for Afghanistan. And there are some hints that such troops might be forthcoming. Now that is carrying idiocy far beyond any ordinary understanding of that term. Most anyone with the mind of a squirrel understands that this is a “war” that cannot be won. Actually, it is a “war” that cannot even be understood. We did not engage in this terrible mistake to defeat the Taliban, but, rather, to defeat al Quaida (that in itself is probably not completely possible). But here we are at “war” with the Taliban. How did this happen? And why should it continue? The Taliban are no reasonable threat to us, and al Quaida apparently exist in many places other than Afghanistan. Personally, I do not believe there has ever been any serious attempt to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. I strongly suspect the whole Afghanistan “war” is now being waged for no reason other than to keep the military/industrial/political complex funded at the level they have come to expect. If we left Afghanistan the Afghans themselves would probably eliminate the Taliban as a serious problem as one of the main reasons they exist is to get rid of us. Afghanistan is Obama’s Vietnam. Saying that the “war” cannot be won militarily, but must also be won politically, is I think unrealistic when applied to Afghanistan. Politics in Afghanistan is not really politics as we usually understand it. It is tribal politics, carried out by warlords and other leaders who vie for power and influence in a system constantly in flux, depending upon who allies with whom at any given time. There are no really large scale political parties that constitute a single entity able to just take over and govern the entire nation. One’s enemy one day is one’s friend the next day. It has always been so and probably will remain so for a long time. The closest thing to a unity government occurs when there is an occupying power that tends to bring all these competing groups together to resist a common enemy. When the enemy is defeated and driven out things revert to normal. It is a system that has worked in Afghanistan for centuries. Who are we to insist they form a single ruling party? And why do they need to do so? I suspect we want them to do so as it would make it much easier to exploit them for a pipeline across the country and perhaps other things as well.
LKBIQ:
Be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one.
Friedrich Nietzsche
TILT:
“If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.”
Mark Twain
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunday, August 09, 2009
The Sweet Life in Paris - book
The Sweet Life in Paris, David Lebovitz (Broadway Books, N.Y., 2009)
I don’t exactly know how to describe this book. Interesting, somewhat; funny, in places; informative, mildly; exciting, not; different, not very; compelling, not really; worth reading, depends; well-written, yes; entertaining, a bit; perhaps “droll” might be an adequate description.
David Lebovitz lived in San Francisco for twenty years. He is primarily a pastry chef. He had longed to live in Paris for quite some time. When he lost his partner of many years, he sold everything and moved, with three full suitcases, to what he now describes as “the world’s most glorious and perplexing city.” This is his account of having to learn to live comfortably in such a foreign city. Like many such books, it trades largely upon what he sees as the strange culture patterns of the French, for example: their inability, as he experiences it, to perform even simple tasks such as painting an apartment, having to dress to take out the garbage, how to approach salespeople, dine properly, and so on. Describing the strange ways people behave in other cultures seems to be very common in books of this genre, no matter what culture is involved: French, Italian, German, Moroccan, English, Irish, whatever. Often I think authors concentrate far too much on what they perceive as the shortcomings of other ways of life, and this sometimes seem to go too far in denigrating them, whether they mean to do so or not. Jane Kramer’s book, Honor to the Bride Like the Pigeon that Guards its Grain Under the Clove Tree, I believe is a good example of this, although some would claim she was very sympathetic to her Moroccan neighbors, I think the book, supposedly a humorous account about a rape and its aftermath, is really quite derogatory. Much to his credit, Lebovitz not only comments on what he finds funny and odd about Parisian culture, but unlike so many of the books written by Americans living in France, he also acknowledges what he finds to be truly exemplary features of French culture, most importantly their health care, and, of course their marvelous food.
As much of the book is taken up with recipes, mostly for pastry, if you ignore them, as I did, you can read the book very quickly. While I confess to an interest in cooking, I have no interest in making pastries and no intention of ever doing so (and no pretentions about even being able or talented enough to make such delicacies, even if I wished to do so). Also much to Lebovitz’s credit is his genuine attempt to learn things the hard way. His interest in French chocolate led him to take a job in one of the finest of such shops in Paris. Similarly, when he wanted to know about fish, he worked for a time with fishmongers. It is not entirely clear from the book just what he did most of the time while becoming acquainted with the ways of the French. It appears that in addition to working for a while in various food industries he also sometimes gave demonstrations of pastry cooking.
His description of his small apartment (most people’s kitchens are apparently larger than his entire apartment), and its tiny kitchen, are interesting, especially with respect to how he had to deal with its many limitations of storage and counter space. Its diminutive size apparently did not keep him from baking brownies and other treats that he used to great advantage in getting acquainted and accepted at the local shops where he routinely bought his vegetables, meat, fish, and so on. It seems American brownies are a universal key to many different locks. It is clear from his account that the French are a skeptical bunch and it takes both time and effort to become accepted by them.
For a pastry chef, Lebovitz writes unusually well, and he does manage to make his Parisian adventures both interesting and educational. While I would not put this book at the top of a priority list for books to read, I believe you can pass a very pleasant afternoon with it.
I don’t exactly know how to describe this book. Interesting, somewhat; funny, in places; informative, mildly; exciting, not; different, not very; compelling, not really; worth reading, depends; well-written, yes; entertaining, a bit; perhaps “droll” might be an adequate description.
David Lebovitz lived in San Francisco for twenty years. He is primarily a pastry chef. He had longed to live in Paris for quite some time. When he lost his partner of many years, he sold everything and moved, with three full suitcases, to what he now describes as “the world’s most glorious and perplexing city.” This is his account of having to learn to live comfortably in such a foreign city. Like many such books, it trades largely upon what he sees as the strange culture patterns of the French, for example: their inability, as he experiences it, to perform even simple tasks such as painting an apartment, having to dress to take out the garbage, how to approach salespeople, dine properly, and so on. Describing the strange ways people behave in other cultures seems to be very common in books of this genre, no matter what culture is involved: French, Italian, German, Moroccan, English, Irish, whatever. Often I think authors concentrate far too much on what they perceive as the shortcomings of other ways of life, and this sometimes seem to go too far in denigrating them, whether they mean to do so or not. Jane Kramer’s book, Honor to the Bride Like the Pigeon that Guards its Grain Under the Clove Tree, I believe is a good example of this, although some would claim she was very sympathetic to her Moroccan neighbors, I think the book, supposedly a humorous account about a rape and its aftermath, is really quite derogatory. Much to his credit, Lebovitz not only comments on what he finds funny and odd about Parisian culture, but unlike so many of the books written by Americans living in France, he also acknowledges what he finds to be truly exemplary features of French culture, most importantly their health care, and, of course their marvelous food.
As much of the book is taken up with recipes, mostly for pastry, if you ignore them, as I did, you can read the book very quickly. While I confess to an interest in cooking, I have no interest in making pastries and no intention of ever doing so (and no pretentions about even being able or talented enough to make such delicacies, even if I wished to do so). Also much to Lebovitz’s credit is his genuine attempt to learn things the hard way. His interest in French chocolate led him to take a job in one of the finest of such shops in Paris. Similarly, when he wanted to know about fish, he worked for a time with fishmongers. It is not entirely clear from the book just what he did most of the time while becoming acquainted with the ways of the French. It appears that in addition to working for a while in various food industries he also sometimes gave demonstrations of pastry cooking.
His description of his small apartment (most people’s kitchens are apparently larger than his entire apartment), and its tiny kitchen, are interesting, especially with respect to how he had to deal with its many limitations of storage and counter space. Its diminutive size apparently did not keep him from baking brownies and other treats that he used to great advantage in getting acquainted and accepted at the local shops where he routinely bought his vegetables, meat, fish, and so on. It seems American brownies are a universal key to many different locks. It is clear from his account that the French are a skeptical bunch and it takes both time and effort to become accepted by them.
For a pastry chef, Lebovitz writes unusually well, and he does manage to make his Parisian adventures both interesting and educational. While I would not put this book at the top of a priority list for books to read, I believe you can pass a very pleasant afternoon with it.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
The Joy of Cooking?
I used to enjoy the food channel, but it seems to me they have done everything they can to remove the joy from cooking. You will recall that it was primarily Julia Child who started cooking on TV, an enterprise that has now grown by leaps and bounds. Not for the better, I think.
Julia Child was enormously successful when she first brought French Cooking to the U.S., partly because of her personality and partly because people, at least many people, were ready to start cooking again after years of being told it was a hassle and they should use canned and instant foods and so on. Child wanted to bring authentic French cooking to American Housewives. This then spawned other cooking shows like Mario Batali, Emeril Lagassi, and by now many, many more. Most of these shows, when they began, actually focused on cooking, and teaching people how to cook. I loved them. They were educational and taught a great deal, not only about how to cook, but where food came from, how it was raised, and so on. We learned about Italy, Spain, India, and many other countries when their cuisine was featured on one show or another. It was great.
But like most everything on TV it changed from basic cooking shows to entertainment, and in the process I believe it did, indeed, remove any joy from cooking. Many of these shows now, especially Emeril Live, degenerated into mostly entertainment, with the Emeril Live band, and so on, where the actual cooking became merely an excuse to make jokes and set the stage for the entertainment. One other development I believe has contributed to removing the joy (at least for me) are the contests. Rather than just teaching us how to cook and passing on other useful information, now many of these shows are contests in which people (cooks of various kinds) compete for prizes, often money. Iron Chef America is perhaps the most important example, where guest chefs come in and compete in cooking supposedly “secret” ingredients to see if they can best the staff of five “Iron Chefs.” They have only a limited time in which to cook. This, too, is mostly entertainment. I’m quite sure the secret ingredient is not really a secret, the show features “judges” (who seem to be picked rather haphazardly) and the five courses required are rated on scales. There is a certain amount of just plain “hoke” involved with (for reasons I cannot comprehend) a gymnastic host, a clever spokesman and an false aura of drama and suspense.
There are other shows, less elaborate, but as competitive, or even more competitive. One of these went on for weeks to pick a chef who would become the fifth Iron Chef. Another competition that just finished last week was to pick someone who would be given their own cooking show. These brought together a number of individuals who competed with each other on a weekly basis to see who would ultimately win. As these were truly competitions there were, of course, hurt feelings, disappointments, sometimes a bit of cheating, all interspersed with comments about the contestants lives and so on. The contestants were universally serious about it and there was little joy to be found, except perhaps for the winner. Now there are competitions for baking the best cake, producing the best three course meal, the best desserts, the best ribs, steaks, hamburgers, chili, whatever. This is a far cry from Child’s attempt to bring French cooking to America.
Not only has the idea of fine cooking been abandoned but now the shows on the cooking channel feature “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” where every kind of abomination is served up to be greedily gulped down by the host who seems delighted with everything, no matter how unhealthy or fattening or whatever. There are other shows that feature how candy is made, potato chips, and just about everything that can be eaten by a public devoted to sugar and fat.
So on the one hand there are those who took Julia Child seriously and want to improve American cuisine (or at least did when they began), and on the other hand those who have basically abandoned the quest for better cuisine and just feature whatever foodstuffs they think Americans want to eat. There is a growing “slow food” movement, dedicated to taking food and cooking seriously, as do the French and Italians, for example. And there are those who are asking people to consider carefully where their food is coming from, how healthy or unhealthy it is, and so on. But there are also those who choose to ignore fine food entirely and just pander to the gluttony of the fast food business. In any case, it seems to me that the whole idea of cooking and enjoying fine food is being challenged and corrupted by those whose interest is in selling us addictive fast foods based primarily on corn syrup, fat, and sugar (they know what Americans like and want to continue serving it to us). The result of all this I think has been to remove whatever joy there once was in food and cooking, either by promoting fast foods on the one hand, or on the other hand, causing us unnecessary worry and anxiety over the source of our food supply. And this without even mentioning those whose very being seems to revolve around making us feel guilty about eating at all, Vegans, PETA, and the burgeoning diet industry. In spite of all this I know at least two people who still find real joy in their food. Perhaps there is still hope in a culture that features hot dog and pie eating contests and revels in all-you-can eat restaurants.
Julia Child was enormously successful when she first brought French Cooking to the U.S., partly because of her personality and partly because people, at least many people, were ready to start cooking again after years of being told it was a hassle and they should use canned and instant foods and so on. Child wanted to bring authentic French cooking to American Housewives. This then spawned other cooking shows like Mario Batali, Emeril Lagassi, and by now many, many more. Most of these shows, when they began, actually focused on cooking, and teaching people how to cook. I loved them. They were educational and taught a great deal, not only about how to cook, but where food came from, how it was raised, and so on. We learned about Italy, Spain, India, and many other countries when their cuisine was featured on one show or another. It was great.
But like most everything on TV it changed from basic cooking shows to entertainment, and in the process I believe it did, indeed, remove any joy from cooking. Many of these shows now, especially Emeril Live, degenerated into mostly entertainment, with the Emeril Live band, and so on, where the actual cooking became merely an excuse to make jokes and set the stage for the entertainment. One other development I believe has contributed to removing the joy (at least for me) are the contests. Rather than just teaching us how to cook and passing on other useful information, now many of these shows are contests in which people (cooks of various kinds) compete for prizes, often money. Iron Chef America is perhaps the most important example, where guest chefs come in and compete in cooking supposedly “secret” ingredients to see if they can best the staff of five “Iron Chefs.” They have only a limited time in which to cook. This, too, is mostly entertainment. I’m quite sure the secret ingredient is not really a secret, the show features “judges” (who seem to be picked rather haphazardly) and the five courses required are rated on scales. There is a certain amount of just plain “hoke” involved with (for reasons I cannot comprehend) a gymnastic host, a clever spokesman and an false aura of drama and suspense.
There are other shows, less elaborate, but as competitive, or even more competitive. One of these went on for weeks to pick a chef who would become the fifth Iron Chef. Another competition that just finished last week was to pick someone who would be given their own cooking show. These brought together a number of individuals who competed with each other on a weekly basis to see who would ultimately win. As these were truly competitions there were, of course, hurt feelings, disappointments, sometimes a bit of cheating, all interspersed with comments about the contestants lives and so on. The contestants were universally serious about it and there was little joy to be found, except perhaps for the winner. Now there are competitions for baking the best cake, producing the best three course meal, the best desserts, the best ribs, steaks, hamburgers, chili, whatever. This is a far cry from Child’s attempt to bring French cooking to America.
Not only has the idea of fine cooking been abandoned but now the shows on the cooking channel feature “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” where every kind of abomination is served up to be greedily gulped down by the host who seems delighted with everything, no matter how unhealthy or fattening or whatever. There are other shows that feature how candy is made, potato chips, and just about everything that can be eaten by a public devoted to sugar and fat.
So on the one hand there are those who took Julia Child seriously and want to improve American cuisine (or at least did when they began), and on the other hand those who have basically abandoned the quest for better cuisine and just feature whatever foodstuffs they think Americans want to eat. There is a growing “slow food” movement, dedicated to taking food and cooking seriously, as do the French and Italians, for example. And there are those who are asking people to consider carefully where their food is coming from, how healthy or unhealthy it is, and so on. But there are also those who choose to ignore fine food entirely and just pander to the gluttony of the fast food business. In any case, it seems to me that the whole idea of cooking and enjoying fine food is being challenged and corrupted by those whose interest is in selling us addictive fast foods based primarily on corn syrup, fat, and sugar (they know what Americans like and want to continue serving it to us). The result of all this I think has been to remove whatever joy there once was in food and cooking, either by promoting fast foods on the one hand, or on the other hand, causing us unnecessary worry and anxiety over the source of our food supply. And this without even mentioning those whose very being seems to revolve around making us feel guilty about eating at all, Vegans, PETA, and the burgeoning diet industry. In spite of all this I know at least two people who still find real joy in their food. Perhaps there is still hope in a culture that features hot dog and pie eating contests and revels in all-you-can eat restaurants.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Basic right and wrong
British man exposes himself to
Greek woman, who pours alcoholic
drink on him and sets him on fire.
Bubblehead: I knew I could count on you to demand absolute evidence for any statement no matter what. Of course I don’t know absolutely if Sotomayor is the most qualified candidate in 100 years. No one knows that. But this is certainly an idea with a pretty broad circulation: “Would bring more judicial experience to the Supreme Court in 100 years, more overall judicial experience than anyone confirmed in 70 years.” (The White House Blog). “No one on the Court has that complete package of experience” (Lawyer and Supreme Court expert, Tom Goldstein). “She is the most qualified and experienced nominee in 100 years” (Capital Briefing). “Most qualified in a century” (Al Franken). “She has more trial experience as judge than any sitting member of the Court” (The Daily Review). “If confirmed she would bring more federal judicial experience than any Justice in 100 years, and more overall judicial experience than anyone in 70 years” (Huffington Post). “One of the most qualified in decades” (Lindsay Graham). “More judicial experience than anyone in the past 70 years” (Tim Kaine). I could go on but what is the point. Obviously some people believe she is the most qualified and others don’t, and for the most part those that do are Democrats and those that don’t are Republicans. Equally obvious is the fact that some of these people are just repeating what they heard from others, like me. The fact is, she is eminently qualified, certainly more qualified than anyone currently on the Court, and the Republican votes against her were simply nonsensical and petty. I don’t know if she was the most qualified in 100 years or not, nor do I intend to spend a lot of time trying to answer that question absolutely one way or the other. Relax, Morialekafa is a blog, not a scientific tome or a definitive history of the world. But it is nice to know you are just as alert and on your toes as ever.
It seems, unfortunately, that there are always people who simply do not understand the basic rules of right and wrong (why do they usually seem to be Republicans?). People in the United States clearly have the right of free speech. No one disputes that. But when one person’s free speech is designed to prevent others from exercising their right to free speech that is wrong. And when plans are made to deliberately deprive people of their right to free speech that is not only wrong, it is criminal. And there is no doubt that these disruptions we are witnessing are not genuinely grass roots protests, but are being stimulated, directed, and financed by corporate interests who do not want to see any form of health reform. That is not to say there may not be some people who are genuinely opposed to health care reform for one reason or another. But to claim it is going to kill old people and mandate sex change operations and such is just nothing but dishonest fearmongering. The people who are promoting these Fascist tactics obviously are not concerned with right and wrong. They just want to get their way and block everyone else’s way. Ultimately it is not in anyone’s best interest to interfere with honest discussions of the pro’s and con’s of health care reform, but these short-sighted idiots apparently don’t have the brain power to either care or understand. The frustrating and disgusting thing about this is that those who would oppose these Fascists will be the ones accused of Fascism, and there is a minority of morons who will believe it, just as they believe Obama wants to kill old people.
Remember that the average I.Q. is said to be 100, and intelligence is supposedly represented by a bell shaped image. This means that half the population has an I.Q. of below 100, and the other half above 100. I hate to say it, and to appear such an elitist, but what we seem to have going here, and I bet this is demonstrable, is a basic conflict between those with at least a semblance of intelligence and those lacking a semblance of it. You will notice that Universities and Colleges for the most part are more liberal than other communities, northern states are more likely to be liberal than southern ones, those with High School educations are generally more liberal than those without, and so on. You might say this is a contest between the Know-somethings and the Know-Nothings, or between the educated and the non-educated, and between the wealthy and the poor, the upper and lower classes, the white collars and the blue collars, or between the informed and the willfully ignorant. This is in large part due to the ethos of anti-intellectualism that has been allowed to infiltrate American culture, and, I think, has been deliberately encouraged by powerful vested corporate interests and their Republican flunkies. The anti-education attitudes in the U.S., while you might find them funny, unfortunately, are not at all funny operating over time.
LKBIQ:
America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week.
Evan Esar
TILT:
When a blind mole rat closes its mouth its incisors are on the outside.
Greek woman, who pours alcoholic
drink on him and sets him on fire.
Bubblehead: I knew I could count on you to demand absolute evidence for any statement no matter what. Of course I don’t know absolutely if Sotomayor is the most qualified candidate in 100 years. No one knows that. But this is certainly an idea with a pretty broad circulation: “Would bring more judicial experience to the Supreme Court in 100 years, more overall judicial experience than anyone confirmed in 70 years.” (The White House Blog). “No one on the Court has that complete package of experience” (Lawyer and Supreme Court expert, Tom Goldstein). “She is the most qualified and experienced nominee in 100 years” (Capital Briefing). “Most qualified in a century” (Al Franken). “She has more trial experience as judge than any sitting member of the Court” (The Daily Review). “If confirmed she would bring more federal judicial experience than any Justice in 100 years, and more overall judicial experience than anyone in 70 years” (Huffington Post). “One of the most qualified in decades” (Lindsay Graham). “More judicial experience than anyone in the past 70 years” (Tim Kaine). I could go on but what is the point. Obviously some people believe she is the most qualified and others don’t, and for the most part those that do are Democrats and those that don’t are Republicans. Equally obvious is the fact that some of these people are just repeating what they heard from others, like me. The fact is, she is eminently qualified, certainly more qualified than anyone currently on the Court, and the Republican votes against her were simply nonsensical and petty. I don’t know if she was the most qualified in 100 years or not, nor do I intend to spend a lot of time trying to answer that question absolutely one way or the other. Relax, Morialekafa is a blog, not a scientific tome or a definitive history of the world. But it is nice to know you are just as alert and on your toes as ever.
It seems, unfortunately, that there are always people who simply do not understand the basic rules of right and wrong (why do they usually seem to be Republicans?). People in the United States clearly have the right of free speech. No one disputes that. But when one person’s free speech is designed to prevent others from exercising their right to free speech that is wrong. And when plans are made to deliberately deprive people of their right to free speech that is not only wrong, it is criminal. And there is no doubt that these disruptions we are witnessing are not genuinely grass roots protests, but are being stimulated, directed, and financed by corporate interests who do not want to see any form of health reform. That is not to say there may not be some people who are genuinely opposed to health care reform for one reason or another. But to claim it is going to kill old people and mandate sex change operations and such is just nothing but dishonest fearmongering. The people who are promoting these Fascist tactics obviously are not concerned with right and wrong. They just want to get their way and block everyone else’s way. Ultimately it is not in anyone’s best interest to interfere with honest discussions of the pro’s and con’s of health care reform, but these short-sighted idiots apparently don’t have the brain power to either care or understand. The frustrating and disgusting thing about this is that those who would oppose these Fascists will be the ones accused of Fascism, and there is a minority of morons who will believe it, just as they believe Obama wants to kill old people.
Remember that the average I.Q. is said to be 100, and intelligence is supposedly represented by a bell shaped image. This means that half the population has an I.Q. of below 100, and the other half above 100. I hate to say it, and to appear such an elitist, but what we seem to have going here, and I bet this is demonstrable, is a basic conflict between those with at least a semblance of intelligence and those lacking a semblance of it. You will notice that Universities and Colleges for the most part are more liberal than other communities, northern states are more likely to be liberal than southern ones, those with High School educations are generally more liberal than those without, and so on. You might say this is a contest between the Know-somethings and the Know-Nothings, or between the educated and the non-educated, and between the wealthy and the poor, the upper and lower classes, the white collars and the blue collars, or between the informed and the willfully ignorant. This is in large part due to the ethos of anti-intellectualism that has been allowed to infiltrate American culture, and, I think, has been deliberately encouraged by powerful vested corporate interests and their Republican flunkies. The anti-education attitudes in the U.S., while you might find them funny, unfortunately, are not at all funny operating over time.
LKBIQ:
America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week.
Evan Esar
TILT:
When a blind mole rat closes its mouth its incisors are on the outside.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Hypocrisy and violence
Eight year-old California girl’s
lemonade stand shut down
for lack of a business license.
There are very few human universals as far as I know, but one of them seems pretty clearly to be hypocrisy. Hilary Clinton, our Secretary of State, is in Kenya, proclaiming, insisting, they must do something to prosecute war crimes. Doesn’t it make you wonder why she’s not in Washington D.C. insisting on the same thing? It appears that only other countries have war criminals, we here at home do not. I think this is hypocrisy of the worst kind. Similarly, the United Nations has apparently said if Kenya does not do something about their war crimes, they (the UN) will intervene and do something, like presumably bringing those accused to the Hague. Why are they not saying the same thing to the U.S.? We clearly have war criminals. They are well known. They have even boasted of their crimes. But, again, it seems the U.S. is exempt from having to deal with the war criminals in their midst. I think this is the most shocking thing about the Obama administration, their failure to deal with this obvious problem. Do you really think other countries are unaware of our hypocrisy? I guess if you are powerful enough you can do whatever you wish, a sad commentary on the human condition, especially after so many thousands of years of history.
I have been thinking about violence, especially as it manifests itself in the United States. I have often complained about movies being so violent, blowing up things and shooting and killings of all kinds. It is a rare movie nowadays that does not feature violence. But what occurs to me is not merely that the movies have become increasingly violent, but where does our apparently obsessive concern with violence come from. I know, of course, that most all societies have violence in some form, even if only once in a while. But most societies I know about are not so completely immersed in violence as we are. In the early movies there was violence, of course, but mostly just the good guy versus the bad guy, cowboys and Indians, detectives and criminals, and not in the overwhelming doses we experience today, almost endless violence that we appear to worship: boxing, wrestling, hockey, and football seem to preoccupy us much more than baseball (which seems to be fading), soccer (which so far cannot compete with our football), basketball (I believe also fading a bit), and so on. More importantly there is also our endless warring and militarism. It seems we just cannot do without a “war” somewhere, even if it means we have to go out of our way to not mind our own business. Now we have torture, and unfortunately it appears that a large number of Americans think torture is okay. We think nothing of killing people by the scores, the hundreds, even the thousands and hundreds of thousands. Collateral damage means nothing. Are all other people as bloodthirsty as we are? I don’t think so, at least not everyone. Iran, strangely enough, is an interesting case in point. Iran has not attacked anyone in over 200 years. There are other countries that have lived in peace for very long periods of time. We can’t say that. There are a few societies, small scale societies, in which violence, while not perhaps entirely unknown, is so rare as to be so aberrant the perpetrator is forced to leave, or, in even rarer cases is put to death by the entire outraged community. People in these small societies live for years in relative harmony and peace. Having lived for quite some time in the New Guinea Highlands, with people regarded as very warlike, I assure you they were nowhere near as concerned with violence as we are. Indeed, they were pleased that under the Australian administration they had given up the worst of their violence and no longer had to live in constant fear. So what is wrong with us? I am loathe to believe genetics plays any significant role in this. It must be cultural. I think maybe it feeds on itself in a rather complicated way. I’m pretty sure our motion pictures and television have at least something to do with it. Attempts to study violence in the U.S. have not been very successful. This has much to do with the sensitivity of racial and class differences. This is a huge topic that I believe desperately needs attention but as most Americans probably think we are perfectly normal (it’s the rest of the world that is off) and are probably in denial on this topic, there isn’t much chance of serious research in the near future (and in the distant future it may well be too late).
The 31 Republicans who voted against Sotomayor have come away from the vote with egg all over their faces. Not only have they alienated the Latino vote probably forever, their reasons for voting against her were simply pathetic excuses. One of them said he voted against her on “philosophical grounds,” but did not specify what those grounds were. Others voted against her because of what they “thought” she might do they might not like (on guns, or abortion, or racism, for example). John McCain, hypocritical as always, said something to the effect that “an interesting life story does not qualify one for an appointment on the Supreme Court.” Interesting in that, first of all, she is the most highly qualified candidate for the court in the past 100 years. Even more interesting is that McCain’s life story was his main qualification to run for President. All in all, their excuses for voting against her almost certainly come down to racism, sexism, and anti-Obama –ism.
LKBIQ:
Violence isn't always evil. What's evil is the infatuation with violence.
Jim Morrison
TILT:
It is estimated that at one time there were 60 million beaver in North America.
lemonade stand shut down
for lack of a business license.
There are very few human universals as far as I know, but one of them seems pretty clearly to be hypocrisy. Hilary Clinton, our Secretary of State, is in Kenya, proclaiming, insisting, they must do something to prosecute war crimes. Doesn’t it make you wonder why she’s not in Washington D.C. insisting on the same thing? It appears that only other countries have war criminals, we here at home do not. I think this is hypocrisy of the worst kind. Similarly, the United Nations has apparently said if Kenya does not do something about their war crimes, they (the UN) will intervene and do something, like presumably bringing those accused to the Hague. Why are they not saying the same thing to the U.S.? We clearly have war criminals. They are well known. They have even boasted of their crimes. But, again, it seems the U.S. is exempt from having to deal with the war criminals in their midst. I think this is the most shocking thing about the Obama administration, their failure to deal with this obvious problem. Do you really think other countries are unaware of our hypocrisy? I guess if you are powerful enough you can do whatever you wish, a sad commentary on the human condition, especially after so many thousands of years of history.
I have been thinking about violence, especially as it manifests itself in the United States. I have often complained about movies being so violent, blowing up things and shooting and killings of all kinds. It is a rare movie nowadays that does not feature violence. But what occurs to me is not merely that the movies have become increasingly violent, but where does our apparently obsessive concern with violence come from. I know, of course, that most all societies have violence in some form, even if only once in a while. But most societies I know about are not so completely immersed in violence as we are. In the early movies there was violence, of course, but mostly just the good guy versus the bad guy, cowboys and Indians, detectives and criminals, and not in the overwhelming doses we experience today, almost endless violence that we appear to worship: boxing, wrestling, hockey, and football seem to preoccupy us much more than baseball (which seems to be fading), soccer (which so far cannot compete with our football), basketball (I believe also fading a bit), and so on. More importantly there is also our endless warring and militarism. It seems we just cannot do without a “war” somewhere, even if it means we have to go out of our way to not mind our own business. Now we have torture, and unfortunately it appears that a large number of Americans think torture is okay. We think nothing of killing people by the scores, the hundreds, even the thousands and hundreds of thousands. Collateral damage means nothing. Are all other people as bloodthirsty as we are? I don’t think so, at least not everyone. Iran, strangely enough, is an interesting case in point. Iran has not attacked anyone in over 200 years. There are other countries that have lived in peace for very long periods of time. We can’t say that. There are a few societies, small scale societies, in which violence, while not perhaps entirely unknown, is so rare as to be so aberrant the perpetrator is forced to leave, or, in even rarer cases is put to death by the entire outraged community. People in these small societies live for years in relative harmony and peace. Having lived for quite some time in the New Guinea Highlands, with people regarded as very warlike, I assure you they were nowhere near as concerned with violence as we are. Indeed, they were pleased that under the Australian administration they had given up the worst of their violence and no longer had to live in constant fear. So what is wrong with us? I am loathe to believe genetics plays any significant role in this. It must be cultural. I think maybe it feeds on itself in a rather complicated way. I’m pretty sure our motion pictures and television have at least something to do with it. Attempts to study violence in the U.S. have not been very successful. This has much to do with the sensitivity of racial and class differences. This is a huge topic that I believe desperately needs attention but as most Americans probably think we are perfectly normal (it’s the rest of the world that is off) and are probably in denial on this topic, there isn’t much chance of serious research in the near future (and in the distant future it may well be too late).
The 31 Republicans who voted against Sotomayor have come away from the vote with egg all over their faces. Not only have they alienated the Latino vote probably forever, their reasons for voting against her were simply pathetic excuses. One of them said he voted against her on “philosophical grounds,” but did not specify what those grounds were. Others voted against her because of what they “thought” she might do they might not like (on guns, or abortion, or racism, for example). John McCain, hypocritical as always, said something to the effect that “an interesting life story does not qualify one for an appointment on the Supreme Court.” Interesting in that, first of all, she is the most highly qualified candidate for the court in the past 100 years. Even more interesting is that McCain’s life story was his main qualification to run for President. All in all, their excuses for voting against her almost certainly come down to racism, sexism, and anti-Obama –ism.
LKBIQ:
Violence isn't always evil. What's evil is the infatuation with violence.
Jim Morrison
TILT:
It is estimated that at one time there were 60 million beaver in North America.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Free speech?
Woman, 86, busted
for shoplifting
anti-wrinkle cream.
Free speech? I saw some Republican (one of the seemingly inexhaustible supply of “consultants,” or “strategists,” that both parties seem to have nowadays) interviewed recently who reported (somehow with a straight face) that the disruptions we are seeing at Democratic town hall and other meetings are merely angry ordinary citizens excercising their rights of free speech. Now, aside from the fact that was a blatant lie, and we know full well that these mobsters (hooligans, gangsters, provocateurs, or whatever you want to call them) are organized and coached by corporations who stand to gain substantially by disrupting any attempts at serious discussion of the issues surrounding health care (see Rachel Maddow today for a really thorough and brilliant expose of this disgusting business), I submit that what we are seeing, far from an exercise of free speech, is the deliberate and willful denial of the free speech of others, not only denying the scheduled speaker the right of free speech, but also denying anyone else who wishes to speak seriously about the issues. This is somewhat similar, I think, to the prohibition on falsely yelling “fire” in a crowded theatre. It should not be allowed. Individuals should certainly be given the right to speak out on issues of concern to them, but they should not be allowed to keep others from doing likewise. To describe what we have been seeing on TV as merely an exercise of free speech is simply ludicrous, unless, perhaps, you believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny all wrapped into one. Apparently, as this tactic worked for them during the 2000 vote counting, they think it will work again. I don’t believe ordinary, serious-minded Americans are going to tolerate it much longer. If it means a few people have to be escorted out of the room so be it. Republicans did this themselves, as you may recall, when their screening processes, designed to keep potential opponents out in the first place, sometimes broke down (you know, if anyone had an “improper” t-shirt or license plate, etc.).
It seems that the truth about Blackwater (now under a different name) is beginning to come out. It is not pleasant. Not only were they murdering innocent civilians pretty much at will and videotaping it, they were also, it appears, smuggling illegal guns, using prohibited ammunition, and who know what all else. The owner of the company turns out to be a religious nutcase who is trying to cleanse the world of Muslims (I guess he thinks it is possible to murder millions). I certainly hope justice might triumph here, but given the record of the Obama administration so far, don’t bet on it. And don’t forget who hired these murderous thugs in the first place. You might also wonder why it is that Obama is still paying these gangsters.
Now Leon Panetta, head of the CIA, has now come out with the Obama argument that we should not worry about the past (investigate war crimes and torture) but only look to the future. Eric Holder, our Attorney General, has been very remiss in calling for any investigation of war crimes and torture. Am I to believe that both of these individuals, in positions that are supposed to be independent of the White House and politics, are simply doing Obama’s bidding on this? I don’t like to think that, but I fear it may be so. How anyone, including Obama, can not want to investigate torture and other war crimes, is totally beyond my comprehension, especially as their oath to uphold the constitution demands it. These were terrible crimes, involving the deaths of millions, torture most vile, the wanton killing of innocent civilians, and so on. The unwarranted and unprovoked attack on Iraq was itself the worst war crime of all. I suspect if all the truth about the Bush/Cheney administration was known it would be far worse than we suspect even now. But it appears nothing is going to be done to hold these criminals accountable. Don’t even bet that Blackwater will be punished.
There is a great article on Alternet today by Arun Gupta, “How We Became a Society of Gluttonous Junk Food Addicts.” It is well worth reading.
LKBIQ:
God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest.
J. G. Holland
TILT:
Apparently, where you find wolves you do not find coyotes.
for shoplifting
anti-wrinkle cream.
Free speech? I saw some Republican (one of the seemingly inexhaustible supply of “consultants,” or “strategists,” that both parties seem to have nowadays) interviewed recently who reported (somehow with a straight face) that the disruptions we are seeing at Democratic town hall and other meetings are merely angry ordinary citizens excercising their rights of free speech. Now, aside from the fact that was a blatant lie, and we know full well that these mobsters (hooligans, gangsters, provocateurs, or whatever you want to call them) are organized and coached by corporations who stand to gain substantially by disrupting any attempts at serious discussion of the issues surrounding health care (see Rachel Maddow today for a really thorough and brilliant expose of this disgusting business), I submit that what we are seeing, far from an exercise of free speech, is the deliberate and willful denial of the free speech of others, not only denying the scheduled speaker the right of free speech, but also denying anyone else who wishes to speak seriously about the issues. This is somewhat similar, I think, to the prohibition on falsely yelling “fire” in a crowded theatre. It should not be allowed. Individuals should certainly be given the right to speak out on issues of concern to them, but they should not be allowed to keep others from doing likewise. To describe what we have been seeing on TV as merely an exercise of free speech is simply ludicrous, unless, perhaps, you believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny all wrapped into one. Apparently, as this tactic worked for them during the 2000 vote counting, they think it will work again. I don’t believe ordinary, serious-minded Americans are going to tolerate it much longer. If it means a few people have to be escorted out of the room so be it. Republicans did this themselves, as you may recall, when their screening processes, designed to keep potential opponents out in the first place, sometimes broke down (you know, if anyone had an “improper” t-shirt or license plate, etc.).
It seems that the truth about Blackwater (now under a different name) is beginning to come out. It is not pleasant. Not only were they murdering innocent civilians pretty much at will and videotaping it, they were also, it appears, smuggling illegal guns, using prohibited ammunition, and who know what all else. The owner of the company turns out to be a religious nutcase who is trying to cleanse the world of Muslims (I guess he thinks it is possible to murder millions). I certainly hope justice might triumph here, but given the record of the Obama administration so far, don’t bet on it. And don’t forget who hired these murderous thugs in the first place. You might also wonder why it is that Obama is still paying these gangsters.
Now Leon Panetta, head of the CIA, has now come out with the Obama argument that we should not worry about the past (investigate war crimes and torture) but only look to the future. Eric Holder, our Attorney General, has been very remiss in calling for any investigation of war crimes and torture. Am I to believe that both of these individuals, in positions that are supposed to be independent of the White House and politics, are simply doing Obama’s bidding on this? I don’t like to think that, but I fear it may be so. How anyone, including Obama, can not want to investigate torture and other war crimes, is totally beyond my comprehension, especially as their oath to uphold the constitution demands it. These were terrible crimes, involving the deaths of millions, torture most vile, the wanton killing of innocent civilians, and so on. The unwarranted and unprovoked attack on Iraq was itself the worst war crime of all. I suspect if all the truth about the Bush/Cheney administration was known it would be far worse than we suspect even now. But it appears nothing is going to be done to hold these criminals accountable. Don’t even bet that Blackwater will be punished.
There is a great article on Alternet today by Arun Gupta, “How We Became a Society of Gluttonous Junk Food Addicts.” It is well worth reading.
LKBIQ:
God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest.
J. G. Holland
TILT:
Apparently, where you find wolves you do not find coyotes.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Greatest short stories?
Congratulations are certainly in order for President Clinton for successfully bringing back our two women being held in North Korea. I'm certain the success was arranged before he agreed to go, but it was still a job well done by everyone involved and it will probably result in an easing of tensions between our two countries.
As virtually all talk now has to do with the ongoing health care issue, and as it is not at all clear what is going to happen, and as it is also the case that the MSM will speculate daily on what is likely to happen, having little or no idea what will happen, I have decided for the time being to just ignore it and turn to issues of no real importance whatsoever. In this case, short stories.
I know a person who often asks me questions like, ‘What is your favorite movie?” Or “Who is your favorite President?” Things like that. Now I have been asked “What are the greatest short stories?”
I am sure that in the course of my lifetime I have read hundreds of short stories, perhaps even more than a thousand. I can’t remember them all, in fact, I can’t remember most of them. So, assuming the ones that I do remember most vividly might be the best (a criterion probably as good as any other) I would offer the following opinions.
The first story that comes to mind in this context is W. Somerset Maugham’s “Rain.” It is my personal belief that Maugham was one of the truly great short story writers. As he was enormously prolific there are many of his stories that I can remember but here I would only mention one other, “Mr. Know-it-all.”
Another rather haunting story that I have never forgotten is Honore de Balzac’s, “Passion in the Desert.” I have read a great deal of Balzac, but this is the one story that has remained in my mind the most. Balzac, of course, was even more prolific than Maugham.
Who could ever forget O’Henry’s famous story, “The Last Leaf?” As short stories go I regard this one as really quite a masterpiece. On a lighter note there is “The Ransom of Red Chief.” O’Henry (a pen name) was a prolific writer of short stories, famous mostly for their surprise endings. He was not, I think, one of the truly great writers in the genre.
Another short story that has long stuck in my mind is Guy de Maupassant’s, “A Piece of String.” Believed to be one of the fathers of the short story, de Maupassant was prolific and a genuine master of the genre.
Although I do not regard Ernest Hemingway as a great writer of short stories (or even as half as great as a writer as his reputation might have us believe), I do remember his story, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.” I also think very highly of “The Old Man and the Sea,” but it is more properly considered a novella.
Still another short story that I have never forgotten is George Orwell’s, “Shooting an Elephant.” I tend to think of Orwell as more of an essayist than a writer of short stories. Shooting an Elephant in a way is a kind of essay as well as a short story.
Although Jack London is remembered mostly as a novelist he did write a few short stories. One of these, “How to Build a Fire,” is to me absolutely unforgettable (as well as sort of terrifying).
“Big Blond,” by Dorothy Parker is probably her most famous work, although she is not necessarily regarded as a short story writer. This story, written, I believe, in 1929, made quite a splash, and I think she won the O’Henry award for short stories that year. It has been analyzed and critiqued in detail, and I’m sure it is has been reprinted in collections repeatedly.
Who could ever forget F. Scott Fitzgerald’s bizarre tale, “The Strange Case of Benjamin Button?” I think, as do most people, that Fitzgerald may have been one of the greatest masters of prose ever, but this story is perhaps more unforgettable because of its subject matter than its prose. That it was recently made into a motion picture will keep it in everyone’s mind for a long time, even if the written version dims in memory.
Although Anton Chekhov was a prolific short story writer, and some say almost single-handedly shaped the genre in the late 19th century, and although I know that I have read many of his stories at one time or another, I cannot remember a single one other than, “Misery.” As this story does not immediately come to mind, it should probably not be considered one of the great short stories. I think this is strange as I know I enjoyed Chekhov years ago when I first read him.
How could one ever forget Salinger’s, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish?” The title alone sticks in your mind, the rather strange dialogue and the unexpected and blunt ending are also hard to forget. I have always felt it is a shame that Salinger was not more prolific.
And who could ever forget an Edgar Allan Poe story like, “The Cask of Amontillado?” Poe’s stories are remembered mostly because they began the horror story genre, but I think they should be remembed as more than merely horror stories as Poe was quite a fine prose writer as well.
This leads me to one further story of a similar kind, “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” This may seem an odd choice as we do not ordinarily think of Sherlock Holmes as fine literature. But remember, the criterion here is merely those stories that I remember the most vividly.
I must confess that for me the story is always more important than the prose itself. This is certainly not the best way to judge which short stories are the best, or which writer of short stories was the greatest, but would it be better to judge a story completely upon its prose style? As is obvious there are probably as many opinions on what makes a great short story as there are about who was the greatest prose stylist.
So…are these really the greatest short stories? Of course not. Are they even the greatest short stories I myself have read? Probably not. They are merely the stories I remember reading. Do I remember them because they were truly great, or because they were horror stories that I cannot forget, or because they are by authors I happen to admire, or because they are the greatest prose ever written, or for some unconscious reasons I do not understand? How would anyone decide what the greatest short stories are, anymore than how could anyone decide who the greatest President was, or what was the greatest baseball game ever played, or whether cats are smarter than dogs, or whether roast beef is better than roast pork, or whether Henry Aaron was greater than Babe Ruth, and so on. Is there any criteria on which to judge which short stories are the greatest? That is, any criteria that everyone would agree on? The answer, of course, is “no.” Perhaps the nearest example in which we might find unanimity would be that Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer ever (but I bet there are people even here who would disagree). I really wish people would stop asking me such nonsensical questions, and I wish I would stop even thinking about them. Fat chance.
As virtually all talk now has to do with the ongoing health care issue, and as it is not at all clear what is going to happen, and as it is also the case that the MSM will speculate daily on what is likely to happen, having little or no idea what will happen, I have decided for the time being to just ignore it and turn to issues of no real importance whatsoever. In this case, short stories.
I know a person who often asks me questions like, ‘What is your favorite movie?” Or “Who is your favorite President?” Things like that. Now I have been asked “What are the greatest short stories?”
I am sure that in the course of my lifetime I have read hundreds of short stories, perhaps even more than a thousand. I can’t remember them all, in fact, I can’t remember most of them. So, assuming the ones that I do remember most vividly might be the best (a criterion probably as good as any other) I would offer the following opinions.
The first story that comes to mind in this context is W. Somerset Maugham’s “Rain.” It is my personal belief that Maugham was one of the truly great short story writers. As he was enormously prolific there are many of his stories that I can remember but here I would only mention one other, “Mr. Know-it-all.”
Another rather haunting story that I have never forgotten is Honore de Balzac’s, “Passion in the Desert.” I have read a great deal of Balzac, but this is the one story that has remained in my mind the most. Balzac, of course, was even more prolific than Maugham.
Who could ever forget O’Henry’s famous story, “The Last Leaf?” As short stories go I regard this one as really quite a masterpiece. On a lighter note there is “The Ransom of Red Chief.” O’Henry (a pen name) was a prolific writer of short stories, famous mostly for their surprise endings. He was not, I think, one of the truly great writers in the genre.
Another short story that has long stuck in my mind is Guy de Maupassant’s, “A Piece of String.” Believed to be one of the fathers of the short story, de Maupassant was prolific and a genuine master of the genre.
Although I do not regard Ernest Hemingway as a great writer of short stories (or even as half as great as a writer as his reputation might have us believe), I do remember his story, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.” I also think very highly of “The Old Man and the Sea,” but it is more properly considered a novella.
Still another short story that I have never forgotten is George Orwell’s, “Shooting an Elephant.” I tend to think of Orwell as more of an essayist than a writer of short stories. Shooting an Elephant in a way is a kind of essay as well as a short story.
Although Jack London is remembered mostly as a novelist he did write a few short stories. One of these, “How to Build a Fire,” is to me absolutely unforgettable (as well as sort of terrifying).
“Big Blond,” by Dorothy Parker is probably her most famous work, although she is not necessarily regarded as a short story writer. This story, written, I believe, in 1929, made quite a splash, and I think she won the O’Henry award for short stories that year. It has been analyzed and critiqued in detail, and I’m sure it is has been reprinted in collections repeatedly.
Who could ever forget F. Scott Fitzgerald’s bizarre tale, “The Strange Case of Benjamin Button?” I think, as do most people, that Fitzgerald may have been one of the greatest masters of prose ever, but this story is perhaps more unforgettable because of its subject matter than its prose. That it was recently made into a motion picture will keep it in everyone’s mind for a long time, even if the written version dims in memory.
Although Anton Chekhov was a prolific short story writer, and some say almost single-handedly shaped the genre in the late 19th century, and although I know that I have read many of his stories at one time or another, I cannot remember a single one other than, “Misery.” As this story does not immediately come to mind, it should probably not be considered one of the great short stories. I think this is strange as I know I enjoyed Chekhov years ago when I first read him.
How could one ever forget Salinger’s, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish?” The title alone sticks in your mind, the rather strange dialogue and the unexpected and blunt ending are also hard to forget. I have always felt it is a shame that Salinger was not more prolific.
And who could ever forget an Edgar Allan Poe story like, “The Cask of Amontillado?” Poe’s stories are remembered mostly because they began the horror story genre, but I think they should be remembed as more than merely horror stories as Poe was quite a fine prose writer as well.
This leads me to one further story of a similar kind, “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” This may seem an odd choice as we do not ordinarily think of Sherlock Holmes as fine literature. But remember, the criterion here is merely those stories that I remember the most vividly.
I must confess that for me the story is always more important than the prose itself. This is certainly not the best way to judge which short stories are the best, or which writer of short stories was the greatest, but would it be better to judge a story completely upon its prose style? As is obvious there are probably as many opinions on what makes a great short story as there are about who was the greatest prose stylist.
So…are these really the greatest short stories? Of course not. Are they even the greatest short stories I myself have read? Probably not. They are merely the stories I remember reading. Do I remember them because they were truly great, or because they were horror stories that I cannot forget, or because they are by authors I happen to admire, or because they are the greatest prose ever written, or for some unconscious reasons I do not understand? How would anyone decide what the greatest short stories are, anymore than how could anyone decide who the greatest President was, or what was the greatest baseball game ever played, or whether cats are smarter than dogs, or whether roast beef is better than roast pork, or whether Henry Aaron was greater than Babe Ruth, and so on. Is there any criteria on which to judge which short stories are the greatest? That is, any criteria that everyone would agree on? The answer, of course, is “no.” Perhaps the nearest example in which we might find unanimity would be that Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer ever (but I bet there are people even here who would disagree). I really wish people would stop asking me such nonsensical questions, and I wish I would stop even thinking about them. Fat chance.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Brafia mobsters
Ordered by deputy to stop
begging, she’s arrested
for begging from him.
Well, the Brafia mobsters are at it again. You may recall that I have contended for quite some time that under the Bush/Cheney administration the transformation of the Republican party into a criminal gang was completed. This transformation probably began somewhat earlier and began to take shape during the Clinton administration. What was once a bona fide political party, finally became a kind of Mafia-type organization, the Brafia (the Bush/Republican Mafia). This meant, among other things, that whereas the traditional goal of a political party was to serve the public interest, that goal was abandoned for, to them, the greater goal of achieving and maintaining absolute control of our nation, by any means possible. They made no secret of this as Karl Rove and others did not hide their intention of creating a permanent one party system (they did not, of course, describe this as a kind of Mafia takeover, although that was pretty much what it was). The first real and undeniable example of their tactics occurred during the 2000 election when a mob descended on Florida, shouting and pounding on doors, to disrupt the vote counting. The only thing this mob lacked was the brown shirts and attendant emblems, like swastikas. Another manifestation of this was their practice of “roviating” anyone who stood in their way. No tactic was too slimy for Rove, but the entire Republican party (by this time becoming the Brafia) did not object to these tactics (consider their absolutely unprecedented attack on Bill Clinton for his private sex life, when they spent some forty million dollars to bring him down for something that had nothing to do with his administration). They lost the election to him, fair and square, but were prepared to use any means, any means at all, to bring him down, no matter how sleazy or dishonest.
Now they are trying desperately to do the same thing to President Obama. They make no secret of it, they will stand united and opposed to anything he proposes to do. They want him (us, our government) to fail, so they can (they hope) regain the power they previously had. They stand to lose everything if the stimulus works so they oppose it in every way they can, they want his health care plans to fail, they want the economy to fail, so they manufacture all sorts of lies, no matter how ridiculous to frighten people away from doing the right thing. Now they have gone so far as to produce an obviously fabricated Kenyan birth certificate for Obama, and a majority of Republicans even now refuse to believe he is an American citizen. They lie atrociously about his health care plan, telling people it will kill old people. No matter how absurd the lies they just keep at it. They want Obama to fail, and if that means 47 million people have to go without health care, so be it. If it means that ordinary citizens are commonly going bankrupt because of our current Insurance based plans, so be it. They lust only for money and power. Empathy is a concept totally foreign to them.
The latest example of this is their plan for systematically disrupting town hall meetings and such, shouting down the speakers, asking questions but not allowing answers, and so on. There are some examples of this on the Internet already. They want you to believe these disruptions are just spontaneous, grass-roots individuals, acting on their own, but it is clear that they are not. They are carefully planned and orchestrated, there are memos instructing people precisely how to go about disrupting things, and they are occurring all over the U.S. In short, the bosses have summoned their mobsters and the latter are carrying out their orders. Rachel Maddow described this as hooliganism. I believe that is too moderate a term, basically conjuring up images of soccer fans and such. Mobsterism or gangsterism would be far more accurate. In any case, call it what you wish, it is not politics as we ordinarily think of politics. It is behavior every bit as criminal as protection rackets or prostitution. In fact, the precise term for what is going on I am sorry to say, is just plain old fashioned Fascism. They do not wear the telltale black or brown shirts, or uniforms of any kind, and they do not use identifiable symbols, but they are basically Fascists, a marriage of politics and corporate control, just as Mussolini defined it. This is absolutely shameful in what purports to be a democratic nation. If the Fascists win you can kiss health care goodbye, along with most everything else that makes life worth living (except for those at the very top whose greed apparently knows no bounds). If we wish meaningful health care reform, or even decent lives for most of us, we cannot allow them to win. We must drive a stake through the hearts of these blood-sucking vampires once and for all.
LKBIQ:
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw
TILT:
Guinea fowl, like Canadian geese, are monogamous.
begging, she’s arrested
for begging from him.
Well, the Brafia mobsters are at it again. You may recall that I have contended for quite some time that under the Bush/Cheney administration the transformation of the Republican party into a criminal gang was completed. This transformation probably began somewhat earlier and began to take shape during the Clinton administration. What was once a bona fide political party, finally became a kind of Mafia-type organization, the Brafia (the Bush/Republican Mafia). This meant, among other things, that whereas the traditional goal of a political party was to serve the public interest, that goal was abandoned for, to them, the greater goal of achieving and maintaining absolute control of our nation, by any means possible. They made no secret of this as Karl Rove and others did not hide their intention of creating a permanent one party system (they did not, of course, describe this as a kind of Mafia takeover, although that was pretty much what it was). The first real and undeniable example of their tactics occurred during the 2000 election when a mob descended on Florida, shouting and pounding on doors, to disrupt the vote counting. The only thing this mob lacked was the brown shirts and attendant emblems, like swastikas. Another manifestation of this was their practice of “roviating” anyone who stood in their way. No tactic was too slimy for Rove, but the entire Republican party (by this time becoming the Brafia) did not object to these tactics (consider their absolutely unprecedented attack on Bill Clinton for his private sex life, when they spent some forty million dollars to bring him down for something that had nothing to do with his administration). They lost the election to him, fair and square, but were prepared to use any means, any means at all, to bring him down, no matter how sleazy or dishonest.
Now they are trying desperately to do the same thing to President Obama. They make no secret of it, they will stand united and opposed to anything he proposes to do. They want him (us, our government) to fail, so they can (they hope) regain the power they previously had. They stand to lose everything if the stimulus works so they oppose it in every way they can, they want his health care plans to fail, they want the economy to fail, so they manufacture all sorts of lies, no matter how ridiculous to frighten people away from doing the right thing. Now they have gone so far as to produce an obviously fabricated Kenyan birth certificate for Obama, and a majority of Republicans even now refuse to believe he is an American citizen. They lie atrociously about his health care plan, telling people it will kill old people. No matter how absurd the lies they just keep at it. They want Obama to fail, and if that means 47 million people have to go without health care, so be it. If it means that ordinary citizens are commonly going bankrupt because of our current Insurance based plans, so be it. They lust only for money and power. Empathy is a concept totally foreign to them.
The latest example of this is their plan for systematically disrupting town hall meetings and such, shouting down the speakers, asking questions but not allowing answers, and so on. There are some examples of this on the Internet already. They want you to believe these disruptions are just spontaneous, grass-roots individuals, acting on their own, but it is clear that they are not. They are carefully planned and orchestrated, there are memos instructing people precisely how to go about disrupting things, and they are occurring all over the U.S. In short, the bosses have summoned their mobsters and the latter are carrying out their orders. Rachel Maddow described this as hooliganism. I believe that is too moderate a term, basically conjuring up images of soccer fans and such. Mobsterism or gangsterism would be far more accurate. In any case, call it what you wish, it is not politics as we ordinarily think of politics. It is behavior every bit as criminal as protection rackets or prostitution. In fact, the precise term for what is going on I am sorry to say, is just plain old fashioned Fascism. They do not wear the telltale black or brown shirts, or uniforms of any kind, and they do not use identifiable symbols, but they are basically Fascists, a marriage of politics and corporate control, just as Mussolini defined it. This is absolutely shameful in what purports to be a democratic nation. If the Fascists win you can kiss health care goodbye, along with most everything else that makes life worth living (except for those at the very top whose greed apparently knows no bounds). If we wish meaningful health care reform, or even decent lives for most of us, we cannot allow them to win. We must drive a stake through the hearts of these blood-sucking vampires once and for all.
LKBIQ:
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw
TILT:
Guinea fowl, like Canadian geese, are monogamous.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Don't Sleep There are Snakes - book
Don’t Sleep, There are Snakes, by Daniel L. Everett (Pantheon, 2008)
The subtitle of this interesting, and potentially very important book, Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle, is a good encapsulation of what the book in general is about. Part One is mostly about the difficulties of living, especially with a wife and three children, in the Amazonian Jungle. Daniel L. Everett was a missionary, trained by the Summer Institute of Linguistics, whose final goal was to learn the language of the Pirahas, a very small group of natives (about 400 in all), well enough to be able to translate the bible into their language. After a difficult beginning, and an exceedingly traumatic experience with malaria, the Everetts managed to live for extended periods of time among these remarkable people, learning and describing much of their way of life and culture, but also focused primarily on their language. This general ethnographic knowledge proved to be absolutely essential in learning and understanding both the language and the culture. Everett spent approximately seven years with the Pirahas, spread out over a thirty year period, and came to know them intimately.
Although I am not linguistically trained and know little about the subject, I found Part Two, which is about the language and the science of linguistics, absolutely fascinating. Everett claims, for example, that contrary to established linguistic theory, the Pirahas have no numbers, not even the famous one, two, and many, that characterize some languages. Similarly, they have, according to Everett, no specific words for color, another significant aberration from established theory. In his attempt to explain this he ultimately challenges the Noam Chomsky theory that grammar is innate in human nature. Everett suggests that there is no universal grammar a la Chomsky but, rather, grammar is primarily a result of cultural factors. As you might imagine, these claims are unusually dramatic and have not as yet been widely accepted by the linguistic community. They have, however, stimulated a great deal of research, and, if ultimately found to be correct, would bring about a massive change in linguistic theory. Being a non-linguist I confess I found his arguments compelling. In the process I believe I learned a lot about linguistics.
Part Three, by far the shortest portion of the book, was to me perhaps the most fascinating of all, as it deals with Everett’s complete loss of faith and conversion to atheism as a result of his life and research among the Pirahas. This was exceedingly difficult for him and resulted, among other things, in the break-up of his marriage. Reading about this painful experience caused me to reflect upon the aims of the Summer Institute of Linguistics and of Missionaries in general. The SIL linguists, who travel to the farthest corners of the globe to translate languages to facilitate translations of the bible, seem to me to be incredibly naïve for believing that the so-called “truths” in the “good book” are so profound as to be necessarily accepted by anyone exposed to them. This is the SIL belief, and their linguists do not otherwise proselytize (at least formally). This is what Everett believed, but after his years of linguistic study, and years of experience with the natives, he learned this was not at all the case. The Pirahas have resisted conversion for over two hundred years and did not take to his efforts among them. The very idea that Christian Missionaries should travel the globe spreading the gospel of Christianity has always struck me as absurd. And having seen first-hand in New Guinea and elsewhere the results of such attempts, rarely very successful, and often very damaging, I confess I was not surprised by Everett’s failure. It is true that some Missions, especially large ones like the Lutherans and Catholics, have sometimes established schools and hospitals, and in general attempted to do “good,” it is also the case that many Missions, especially smaller ones, have tended to do very “well” while doing “good.” This has certainly been the case in New Guinea.
The history of missionary activity in the U.S. and Australia, and other places, is well-known, and unfortunately not a record of which to proud. For example, forcibly removing native children from their parents and placing them into Christian boarding schools was not a very good or successful procedure. But there is no time or space here to deal with the effects of missionary activity around the world.
If you have any interest in Missionary activity, the Amazon, the study of language, or even in how different people think and perceive the world, you will find this book of more than merely passing interest.
The subtitle of this interesting, and potentially very important book, Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle, is a good encapsulation of what the book in general is about. Part One is mostly about the difficulties of living, especially with a wife and three children, in the Amazonian Jungle. Daniel L. Everett was a missionary, trained by the Summer Institute of Linguistics, whose final goal was to learn the language of the Pirahas, a very small group of natives (about 400 in all), well enough to be able to translate the bible into their language. After a difficult beginning, and an exceedingly traumatic experience with malaria, the Everetts managed to live for extended periods of time among these remarkable people, learning and describing much of their way of life and culture, but also focused primarily on their language. This general ethnographic knowledge proved to be absolutely essential in learning and understanding both the language and the culture. Everett spent approximately seven years with the Pirahas, spread out over a thirty year period, and came to know them intimately.
Although I am not linguistically trained and know little about the subject, I found Part Two, which is about the language and the science of linguistics, absolutely fascinating. Everett claims, for example, that contrary to established linguistic theory, the Pirahas have no numbers, not even the famous one, two, and many, that characterize some languages. Similarly, they have, according to Everett, no specific words for color, another significant aberration from established theory. In his attempt to explain this he ultimately challenges the Noam Chomsky theory that grammar is innate in human nature. Everett suggests that there is no universal grammar a la Chomsky but, rather, grammar is primarily a result of cultural factors. As you might imagine, these claims are unusually dramatic and have not as yet been widely accepted by the linguistic community. They have, however, stimulated a great deal of research, and, if ultimately found to be correct, would bring about a massive change in linguistic theory. Being a non-linguist I confess I found his arguments compelling. In the process I believe I learned a lot about linguistics.
Part Three, by far the shortest portion of the book, was to me perhaps the most fascinating of all, as it deals with Everett’s complete loss of faith and conversion to atheism as a result of his life and research among the Pirahas. This was exceedingly difficult for him and resulted, among other things, in the break-up of his marriage. Reading about this painful experience caused me to reflect upon the aims of the Summer Institute of Linguistics and of Missionaries in general. The SIL linguists, who travel to the farthest corners of the globe to translate languages to facilitate translations of the bible, seem to me to be incredibly naïve for believing that the so-called “truths” in the “good book” are so profound as to be necessarily accepted by anyone exposed to them. This is the SIL belief, and their linguists do not otherwise proselytize (at least formally). This is what Everett believed, but after his years of linguistic study, and years of experience with the natives, he learned this was not at all the case. The Pirahas have resisted conversion for over two hundred years and did not take to his efforts among them. The very idea that Christian Missionaries should travel the globe spreading the gospel of Christianity has always struck me as absurd. And having seen first-hand in New Guinea and elsewhere the results of such attempts, rarely very successful, and often very damaging, I confess I was not surprised by Everett’s failure. It is true that some Missions, especially large ones like the Lutherans and Catholics, have sometimes established schools and hospitals, and in general attempted to do “good,” it is also the case that many Missions, especially smaller ones, have tended to do very “well” while doing “good.” This has certainly been the case in New Guinea.
The history of missionary activity in the U.S. and Australia, and other places, is well-known, and unfortunately not a record of which to proud. For example, forcibly removing native children from their parents and placing them into Christian boarding schools was not a very good or successful procedure. But there is no time or space here to deal with the effects of missionary activity around the world.
If you have any interest in Missionary activity, the Amazon, the study of language, or even in how different people think and perceive the world, you will find this book of more than merely passing interest.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
So what?
Bank teller fired for
violating policy and
capturing bank robber.
Pardon my increasing cynicism, but I don’t know what else to say lately to the goings-on in D.C. except “so what.” It seems that Karl Rove and ex-President Bush were much more involved in the Department of Justice firings than previously thought. So what? You don’t see anything happening about it do you? We already know that Dick the Slimy was responsible for torture and withholding information from Congress, both blatant violations of the law, but so what, nothing seems to be done about it. We know that Bush’s pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, a country not a threat to us, was a violation of International and U.S. law, but so what, he’s still walking around dragging in huge speaking fees. We know that Bush illegal wiretapped U.S. citizens but, once again, so what. It seems there is just nothing these war criminals can do that might bring about some form of accountability. I suspect George W. Bush could be seen having sex with a goat on the steps of Congress and nothing would happen. Nothing. Of course recently there is talk of Eric Holder appointing a special investigator to look into some of the more egregious violations of the law and constitution, but I guess he is just thinking about it. By the time he’s through thinking about it the perpetrators will be dead and gone, leaving their ill-gotten loot to their children who will no doubt carry on in their fathers’ footsteps. It’s the American way.
There are a few developments that I can’t say so what about, at least not yet. Although many say that health care legislation is dead or dying, it appears that there may actually be a vote at some point about a single-payer system (I saw somewhere today that Nancy Pelosi indicated as such). If this is true it would be quite a positive development and not deserving of a so what moment. Of course such a vote will probably fail, but perhaps we may salvage at least a public option out of all this (perhaps, that is). I find it maddening, as well as outrageous, that a few so-called Blue Dog Democrats seem to believe it is okay for them to withhold health care from 47 million of their peers. Oh, I forgot, they are not their peers, Congressmen with power believe they have no peers. After all, they’ve got health care and others don’t. Not only will they not support health care for 47 million others, they will also not support reform to those with health care who just get ripped off endlessly by the Insurance companies. It seems Insurance companies are good, decent and universal health care is bad.
It seems that GE, the corporation that owns MSNBC, has muzzled Keith Olberman and told him to stop picking on O’Reilly, bad for business, you know. I’m not surprised. Rachel Maddow will be next, we can’t have anyone actually telling us the truth about anything and refusing to dumb down the news. I guess the Olberman/O’Reilly feud was good for the ratings for a while but too many stockholders began to complain. It’s certainly not that O’Reilly didn’t deserve the drubbing he was getting from Olberman, he shouldn’t be allowed on the air in the first place. But, much to my amazement, and chagrin, he does have an audience, and in contemporary TV that’s all that matters. Look at Glenn Beck, a TV personality so awful he should be put quietly to sleep, but he amazingly seems to have an audience (there seems to be an endless supply of idiots in the U.S.). I will not be at all surprised if Olberman and Maddow are replaced with one or another of the endless supply of young, attractive women trained to read flawlessly about Michael Jackson and car chases from the teleprompter.
Sybil Edmonds has now claimed (and I tend to believe her) that Osama bin Laden was paid by the CIA right up to 9/11. I knew that bin Laden was a CIA asset during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan; now, if Edmonds is correct, he continued being one until at least 9/11. I have long suspected that the reason we have not captured or killed bin Laden was because he was a CIA asset (although I sort of believed this I resisted believing it entirely as too far-fetched). But if he continued until 9/11, even if he no longer continues, the CIA must owe him something. Could that something be a guarantee of safety? Knowing what we now know of the Bush/Cheney administration, and the behavior of the CIA, I no longer regard this as far-fetched. I wonder if all the illegal machinations of the Bush/Cheney and CIA activities will ever be revealed. Even if they are you can be pretty sure there will be no accountability. It seems the Obama administration, along with Congress, are far too spineless to take action against anyone, no matter how obvious and odious their crimes.
LKBIQ:
I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.
Umberto Eco
TILT:
Joan of Arc was only 19 years of age when she was burned at the stake.
violating policy and
capturing bank robber.
Pardon my increasing cynicism, but I don’t know what else to say lately to the goings-on in D.C. except “so what.” It seems that Karl Rove and ex-President Bush were much more involved in the Department of Justice firings than previously thought. So what? You don’t see anything happening about it do you? We already know that Dick the Slimy was responsible for torture and withholding information from Congress, both blatant violations of the law, but so what, nothing seems to be done about it. We know that Bush’s pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, a country not a threat to us, was a violation of International and U.S. law, but so what, he’s still walking around dragging in huge speaking fees. We know that Bush illegal wiretapped U.S. citizens but, once again, so what. It seems there is just nothing these war criminals can do that might bring about some form of accountability. I suspect George W. Bush could be seen having sex with a goat on the steps of Congress and nothing would happen. Nothing. Of course recently there is talk of Eric Holder appointing a special investigator to look into some of the more egregious violations of the law and constitution, but I guess he is just thinking about it. By the time he’s through thinking about it the perpetrators will be dead and gone, leaving their ill-gotten loot to their children who will no doubt carry on in their fathers’ footsteps. It’s the American way.
There are a few developments that I can’t say so what about, at least not yet. Although many say that health care legislation is dead or dying, it appears that there may actually be a vote at some point about a single-payer system (I saw somewhere today that Nancy Pelosi indicated as such). If this is true it would be quite a positive development and not deserving of a so what moment. Of course such a vote will probably fail, but perhaps we may salvage at least a public option out of all this (perhaps, that is). I find it maddening, as well as outrageous, that a few so-called Blue Dog Democrats seem to believe it is okay for them to withhold health care from 47 million of their peers. Oh, I forgot, they are not their peers, Congressmen with power believe they have no peers. After all, they’ve got health care and others don’t. Not only will they not support health care for 47 million others, they will also not support reform to those with health care who just get ripped off endlessly by the Insurance companies. It seems Insurance companies are good, decent and universal health care is bad.
It seems that GE, the corporation that owns MSNBC, has muzzled Keith Olberman and told him to stop picking on O’Reilly, bad for business, you know. I’m not surprised. Rachel Maddow will be next, we can’t have anyone actually telling us the truth about anything and refusing to dumb down the news. I guess the Olberman/O’Reilly feud was good for the ratings for a while but too many stockholders began to complain. It’s certainly not that O’Reilly didn’t deserve the drubbing he was getting from Olberman, he shouldn’t be allowed on the air in the first place. But, much to my amazement, and chagrin, he does have an audience, and in contemporary TV that’s all that matters. Look at Glenn Beck, a TV personality so awful he should be put quietly to sleep, but he amazingly seems to have an audience (there seems to be an endless supply of idiots in the U.S.). I will not be at all surprised if Olberman and Maddow are replaced with one or another of the endless supply of young, attractive women trained to read flawlessly about Michael Jackson and car chases from the teleprompter.
Sybil Edmonds has now claimed (and I tend to believe her) that Osama bin Laden was paid by the CIA right up to 9/11. I knew that bin Laden was a CIA asset during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan; now, if Edmonds is correct, he continued being one until at least 9/11. I have long suspected that the reason we have not captured or killed bin Laden was because he was a CIA asset (although I sort of believed this I resisted believing it entirely as too far-fetched). But if he continued until 9/11, even if he no longer continues, the CIA must owe him something. Could that something be a guarantee of safety? Knowing what we now know of the Bush/Cheney administration, and the behavior of the CIA, I no longer regard this as far-fetched. I wonder if all the illegal machinations of the Bush/Cheney and CIA activities will ever be revealed. Even if they are you can be pretty sure there will be no accountability. It seems the Obama administration, along with Congress, are far too spineless to take action against anyone, no matter how obvious and odious their crimes.
LKBIQ:
I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.
Umberto Eco
TILT:
Joan of Arc was only 19 years of age when she was burned at the stake.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Beer party
Tow truck driver texting on
one phone, talking on another,
crashes into swimming pool.
Bubblehead: I forgot to thank you for your comment. I hope you are doing really well.
I applaud Obama for his attempt to shut down the controversy over the Gates arrest. However, I fear he has just added more fuel to the fire. We are now going to have to listen to arguments over which beer is the best. At least one person has objected to Obama’s choice of Bud Light because the company is now owned by Belgians. I heard somewhere that the other two beers were also foreign. The White House will no doubt hear about that. Then there are all those small breweries who will all want to complain that their beers should have been featured. Before this runs its course I won’t be surprised to see a series of beer tastings in the White House. The MSM, in their continual attempt to keep us from any real news, will keep this alive for as long as they can. After all, we shouldn’t be thinking of health care, Afghanistan, the economy, or anything so mundane when we can think about beer.
The Birthers are still at it. Here I thought that after the vote in which everyone agreed Obama was indeed a citizen of the U.S. they would give up. But you can’t say they aren’t creative. One Republican sent a long memo to his constituents explaining the whole issue in detail: You see, Obama’s parents took a trip to Kenya while she was pregnant. Because she was so far pregnant she couldn’t fly back to the U.S. so she had Obama in Kenya. And as she was too young, her birthing him could not make him a citizen, and blah, blah, blah, etc. This memo was read out loud on the Rachel Maddow show this evening. I think the author missed his calling, he should be writing spicy potboilers.
I don’t understand all these arguments over universal health care. It seems to me pretty simple. The American people do not want our current system and would prefer a single-payer system, or at least a public option. The Insurance companies do not because they are making huge profits over the existing dysfunctional system. This seems like a really clear choice to me. The fact that Insurance companies could keep 47 million Americans from adequate health care would seem like a no-brainer. At least it would in any country that actually had the well-being of its citizens in mind. But this, I guess I have to remind you, is the U.S.A., we’re different.
Here in North Idaho it is a banner year for huckleberries. Most everyone is picking huckleberries, even people who do not usually pick huckleberries. They are said to be everywhere. Good, I say, maybe the bears will keep out of our garbage cans this year. Now we have huckleberry pies, milk shakes, cobblers, shortcake, ice cream, jams, sauces, and I don’t know what all else. I heard of one place that served a shrimp salad with huckleberries, aaaaaagh!
I am wondering if Obama is going to stick to his position on the Israeli (illegal) settlements. I understand there have been anti-Obama demonstrations in Israel of late. I guess it is just too much to expect Israel to live up to any of its international agreements or pay attention to the U.N. or anyone else. They never have. You might think Obama has asked them for all their first born children or something. As far as I am concerned it is well past time that someone has confronted them over their reckless, illegal, and genocidal behavior. Oh, I forgot, Obama is too busy having to prove that he was born, that he is not out to kill old people, that global warming is real, that insurance companies are trying to torpedo health care, and so on. In my view, the Israeli/Palestinian issue is almost as important as health care, especially if there is to be any hope for peace in the Middle East…ever. Oh, I forgot again, the whole problem is really Iran where they are (falsely, apparently) said to be eagerly rushing the development of a nuclear bomb to bomb Israel, and apparently the rest of the known world, according to the Israelis. If Obama can’t curb the Israelis, and produce universal health care, we can kiss any hopes of either of those things goodbye for a very long time, perhaps forever.
For a list of topics and comments you may find of interest see Morialekafa, 7-25-09.
LKBIQ:
Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.
Paul Valery
TILT:
“Blue Dog Democrats” received their name because they were said to be being “choked blue” by the “left.”
one phone, talking on another,
crashes into swimming pool.
Bubblehead: I forgot to thank you for your comment. I hope you are doing really well.
I applaud Obama for his attempt to shut down the controversy over the Gates arrest. However, I fear he has just added more fuel to the fire. We are now going to have to listen to arguments over which beer is the best. At least one person has objected to Obama’s choice of Bud Light because the company is now owned by Belgians. I heard somewhere that the other two beers were also foreign. The White House will no doubt hear about that. Then there are all those small breweries who will all want to complain that their beers should have been featured. Before this runs its course I won’t be surprised to see a series of beer tastings in the White House. The MSM, in their continual attempt to keep us from any real news, will keep this alive for as long as they can. After all, we shouldn’t be thinking of health care, Afghanistan, the economy, or anything so mundane when we can think about beer.
The Birthers are still at it. Here I thought that after the vote in which everyone agreed Obama was indeed a citizen of the U.S. they would give up. But you can’t say they aren’t creative. One Republican sent a long memo to his constituents explaining the whole issue in detail: You see, Obama’s parents took a trip to Kenya while she was pregnant. Because she was so far pregnant she couldn’t fly back to the U.S. so she had Obama in Kenya. And as she was too young, her birthing him could not make him a citizen, and blah, blah, blah, etc. This memo was read out loud on the Rachel Maddow show this evening. I think the author missed his calling, he should be writing spicy potboilers.
I don’t understand all these arguments over universal health care. It seems to me pretty simple. The American people do not want our current system and would prefer a single-payer system, or at least a public option. The Insurance companies do not because they are making huge profits over the existing dysfunctional system. This seems like a really clear choice to me. The fact that Insurance companies could keep 47 million Americans from adequate health care would seem like a no-brainer. At least it would in any country that actually had the well-being of its citizens in mind. But this, I guess I have to remind you, is the U.S.A., we’re different.
Here in North Idaho it is a banner year for huckleberries. Most everyone is picking huckleberries, even people who do not usually pick huckleberries. They are said to be everywhere. Good, I say, maybe the bears will keep out of our garbage cans this year. Now we have huckleberry pies, milk shakes, cobblers, shortcake, ice cream, jams, sauces, and I don’t know what all else. I heard of one place that served a shrimp salad with huckleberries, aaaaaagh!
I am wondering if Obama is going to stick to his position on the Israeli (illegal) settlements. I understand there have been anti-Obama demonstrations in Israel of late. I guess it is just too much to expect Israel to live up to any of its international agreements or pay attention to the U.N. or anyone else. They never have. You might think Obama has asked them for all their first born children or something. As far as I am concerned it is well past time that someone has confronted them over their reckless, illegal, and genocidal behavior. Oh, I forgot, Obama is too busy having to prove that he was born, that he is not out to kill old people, that global warming is real, that insurance companies are trying to torpedo health care, and so on. In my view, the Israeli/Palestinian issue is almost as important as health care, especially if there is to be any hope for peace in the Middle East…ever. Oh, I forgot again, the whole problem is really Iran where they are (falsely, apparently) said to be eagerly rushing the development of a nuclear bomb to bomb Israel, and apparently the rest of the known world, according to the Israelis. If Obama can’t curb the Israelis, and produce universal health care, we can kiss any hopes of either of those things goodbye for a very long time, perhaps forever.
For a list of topics and comments you may find of interest see Morialekafa, 7-25-09.
LKBIQ:
Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.
Paul Valery
TILT:
“Blue Dog Democrats” received their name because they were said to be being “choked blue” by the “left.”
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Birthers, Deathers, and Cretins
Seven year-old boy leads
police on 40mph car chase
to escape going to church.
Birthers, Deathers, and Cretins. I wonder if it is even possible for Republicans to descend even further into their mindless desperation. For weeks now we have heard them talking about Obama’s birthplace, whether or not he is really an American, and whether or not he is qualified to be President. Then when a recent vote was taken in the House everyone, including the truly goofy Michelle Bachman, voted that indeed he was a citizen. So why did they so relentlessly pursue their theme that he was not when they obviously knew better? I suspect it was because they didn’t want us to hear about anything more important, like health care, the stimulus, and so on.
Now that the Birther argument should be settled, except I guess for Lou Dobbs who seems unable to understand even the simplest facts, they have started their new conspiracy notion, the health care plan is really designed to kill old people. So where we had Birthers, now we have Deathers. Both of these campaigns, if you want to consider them that, are absolutely nonsensical and have no purpose other than frightening people and causing a great deal of unnecessary confusion with respect to the issue of universal health care. It seems they will stop at nothing to destroy any attempt to provide adequate health care for all Americans and insure that the current dysfunctional and inadequate system will continue to provide obscene profits for the Insurance and Pharmaceutical giants.
But these cretinous jerks don’t stop with merely this nonsense, now they are on a campaign to label Obama a racist (if this is not projection a la Freud I don’t know what would be). Glen Beck, that intellect out of the comic strips, just said, “Obama has a deep-seated hatred of white people,” followed by less than two minutes later, “I didn’t say he didn’t like white people.” This is just one example of the absurd claims they make with no evidence whatsoever. It’s like whatever pops into their little minds they just spew out without any further thought whatsoever. They are pushing the benefits of free speech right to the margins of hell with no regards for decency, fair-play, or honesty. I think they must feel that if they are going down anyway, they can say any ridiculous thing they want, as somehow it just won’t matter and won’t come back to haunt them.
Nothing Republicans have done in recent weeks seems to make any sense whatsoever. They criticized the stimulus bill with nothing of their own but four pages of nonsense, now they are doing the same thing with health care, just criticizing but offering no plan of their own. They are opposing Sotomayor on grounds that are simply petty and ridiculous, and will certainly not help them with Hispanic voters in the coming elections. Without Hispanic votes they have no chance of winning much of anything, they just don’t seem to care, as they are without much hope to begin with. I think all their frantic and irrational behavior has to do with our having a Black President for the first time, a situation so foreign to their beliefs about white superiority it is driving them crazy. A Black President and now a Hispanic Supreme Court Justice has caused them to become completely unhinged, even to the point now that they no longer even pretend they are not racists (and sexists).
Interestingly enough, the fact that they (and, indeed, most everyone) continues to routinely refer to Obama as Black is in and of itself nothing but pure racism. Obama is half white, so why don’t we refer to him as white, or even black and white? The reason, of course, has to do with our belief that if someone has any black blood at all they are black. But this is utter nonsense. We would never say that a black person with a little white blood was white. In this view black blood is considered contaminating in a way that white blood is not. Racism, pure and simple.
LKBIQ:
Any great truth can -- and eventually will -- be expressed as a cliche -- a cliche is a sure and certain way to dilute an idea. For instance, my grandmother used to say, 'The black cat is always the last one off the fence.' I have no idea what she meant, but at one time, it was undoubtedly true.
Solomon Short
TILT:
It’s true, you cannot herd cats.
police on 40mph car chase
to escape going to church.
Birthers, Deathers, and Cretins. I wonder if it is even possible for Republicans to descend even further into their mindless desperation. For weeks now we have heard them talking about Obama’s birthplace, whether or not he is really an American, and whether or not he is qualified to be President. Then when a recent vote was taken in the House everyone, including the truly goofy Michelle Bachman, voted that indeed he was a citizen. So why did they so relentlessly pursue their theme that he was not when they obviously knew better? I suspect it was because they didn’t want us to hear about anything more important, like health care, the stimulus, and so on.
Now that the Birther argument should be settled, except I guess for Lou Dobbs who seems unable to understand even the simplest facts, they have started their new conspiracy notion, the health care plan is really designed to kill old people. So where we had Birthers, now we have Deathers. Both of these campaigns, if you want to consider them that, are absolutely nonsensical and have no purpose other than frightening people and causing a great deal of unnecessary confusion with respect to the issue of universal health care. It seems they will stop at nothing to destroy any attempt to provide adequate health care for all Americans and insure that the current dysfunctional and inadequate system will continue to provide obscene profits for the Insurance and Pharmaceutical giants.
But these cretinous jerks don’t stop with merely this nonsense, now they are on a campaign to label Obama a racist (if this is not projection a la Freud I don’t know what would be). Glen Beck, that intellect out of the comic strips, just said, “Obama has a deep-seated hatred of white people,” followed by less than two minutes later, “I didn’t say he didn’t like white people.” This is just one example of the absurd claims they make with no evidence whatsoever. It’s like whatever pops into their little minds they just spew out without any further thought whatsoever. They are pushing the benefits of free speech right to the margins of hell with no regards for decency, fair-play, or honesty. I think they must feel that if they are going down anyway, they can say any ridiculous thing they want, as somehow it just won’t matter and won’t come back to haunt them.
Nothing Republicans have done in recent weeks seems to make any sense whatsoever. They criticized the stimulus bill with nothing of their own but four pages of nonsense, now they are doing the same thing with health care, just criticizing but offering no plan of their own. They are opposing Sotomayor on grounds that are simply petty and ridiculous, and will certainly not help them with Hispanic voters in the coming elections. Without Hispanic votes they have no chance of winning much of anything, they just don’t seem to care, as they are without much hope to begin with. I think all their frantic and irrational behavior has to do with our having a Black President for the first time, a situation so foreign to their beliefs about white superiority it is driving them crazy. A Black President and now a Hispanic Supreme Court Justice has caused them to become completely unhinged, even to the point now that they no longer even pretend they are not racists (and sexists).
Interestingly enough, the fact that they (and, indeed, most everyone) continues to routinely refer to Obama as Black is in and of itself nothing but pure racism. Obama is half white, so why don’t we refer to him as white, or even black and white? The reason, of course, has to do with our belief that if someone has any black blood at all they are black. But this is utter nonsense. We would never say that a black person with a little white blood was white. In this view black blood is considered contaminating in a way that white blood is not. Racism, pure and simple.
LKBIQ:
Any great truth can -- and eventually will -- be expressed as a cliche -- a cliche is a sure and certain way to dilute an idea. For instance, my grandmother used to say, 'The black cat is always the last one off the fence.' I have no idea what she meant, but at one time, it was undoubtedly true.
Solomon Short
TILT:
It’s true, you cannot herd cats.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Take your pick
Young bikini-clad carjacker
fails to rob RV dealer, who
refuses to believe she has a gun.
Take your pick, either Republicans are totally dishonest or totally stupid, or perhaps both. It is confusing, at least to me. Take the “Birthers,” for example, After days, even weeks, of claiming that Obama was not really born in the U.S., when it came to a vote even the most extreme nutcases, like Bachman, voted that he was. So what was that all about? It would appear they didn’t really believe what they were saying for so long, so why were they saying it? This topic became such an embarrassment for them even Rush, that great fat platter of greasy drug-fed know-nothingness had to give it up.
But the birther conspiracy pales into insignificance compared to the latest conspiracy making the round of the right. The claim that Obama’s health care reform is really designed to kill old people. This idea is apparently everywhere on right wing programs (I don’t know this first hand as I never watch any of their idiotic blather). If they truly believe this they are unutterably stupid. If they don’t believe it they are unutterably dishonest.
It is also perfectly obvious that for the most part they have no idea what they are talking about. It’s like the woman Obama quoted who was warning him about his socialism who ended with the statement, “don’t touch my medicare.” In the U.S. we have Medicare and Medicaid, universal elementary school public education, fine Veteran Administration health care, a public postal service, all kinds of agricultural and other subsidies, and so on, all “socialistic.” Even so, they continue to complain about the possibility that Obama may be trying (horrors) to introduce socialism to the U.S.. Again, if they understand what they are talking about their incessant criticism is dishonest, and if they don’t they are just plain stupid, or again, maybe both.
More importantly, when it comes to universal health care, they are even worse. Some 70 plus percent of the U.S. population is dissatisfied with the status quo and want to see meaningful change. For a large percentage of these people they would prefer a single-payer system, but failing that, at least a public option. So Republicans, with the aid of the so-called “Blue dog Democrats” are opposing not only single-payer (which has not even seriously been considered), but also a public option. As these plans have been studied for years by experts on such topics, and as it is perfectly clear what the facts are, the opposition to universal care is either dishonest or stupid, or both. In this case I opt for dishonest because I know those who oppose any change are being paid off by the Insurance and Pharmaceutical giants who are reaping obscene profits from the current dysfunctional situation. In other words, these corporations and individuals are willing to cause some 47 million of their fellow citizens who do not have any health care, plus even many who do have health care, to continue to suffer and go into bankruptcy in return for bribes. Welcome to the U.S. political system, in all its glorious corruption.
I was amused to see somewhere today that some group (I don’t know who or what it was) wanted people to comment on Sarah Palin, but emphasized they only wanted positive comments. This led one blogger wit to reply, “I am absolutely positive she is a moron.” Personally I believe she is a moron. I also find I am living in fear because of the Palin phenomenon. As she apparently continues to have a following, and as we continue to hear she might be a contender for the Republican nomination for President, I am frightened, knowing there are people that gullible and/or stupid who have the vote. I mean, that George W. Bush could have been elected President was ridiculous enough, the thought of Sarah Palin is really scary (especially coming so closely on the heels of Bush). I guess some people just never learn (which in itself is frightening, when it comes to governing).
Then there is the case of Sonia Sotomayor. Republicans (almost all of them) are going to vote against her for the Supreme Court. Their grounds for doing so are either dishonest or stupid. Sotomayor has a record of 1400 opinions that have been studied carefully. Those who have done this have said there is no record of discrimination whatsoever. She has been highly recommended by the American Bar Association, it is common knowledge that she will be confirmed, but Republicans are going to vote against her. For reasons, they quote (again and again and again) a comment she once made in a speech where she suggested Latino women might (in some contexts) made better decisions that white men. To object to her on this basis is not only deliberately manufacturing a reason, it is dishonest. They also object to her because they think (they do not know) that she might be somewhat against guns. Again, this is no genuine reason to oppose her, just a petty dishonest excuse. They will vote against her because (1) she is a Latino, and (2) she is a woman. They cannot bring themselves to confess they are both racists and sexists, although it is perfectly clear from their questions during the hearings, and now their excuses, that is the case.
LKBIQ:
It's hard to decide if TV makes morons out of everyone or if it mirrors Americans who really are morons to begin with.
Martin Mull
TILT:
Hummingbirds are the only species of bird that can fly backwards.
fails to rob RV dealer, who
refuses to believe she has a gun.
Take your pick, either Republicans are totally dishonest or totally stupid, or perhaps both. It is confusing, at least to me. Take the “Birthers,” for example, After days, even weeks, of claiming that Obama was not really born in the U.S., when it came to a vote even the most extreme nutcases, like Bachman, voted that he was. So what was that all about? It would appear they didn’t really believe what they were saying for so long, so why were they saying it? This topic became such an embarrassment for them even Rush, that great fat platter of greasy drug-fed know-nothingness had to give it up.
But the birther conspiracy pales into insignificance compared to the latest conspiracy making the round of the right. The claim that Obama’s health care reform is really designed to kill old people. This idea is apparently everywhere on right wing programs (I don’t know this first hand as I never watch any of their idiotic blather). If they truly believe this they are unutterably stupid. If they don’t believe it they are unutterably dishonest.
It is also perfectly obvious that for the most part they have no idea what they are talking about. It’s like the woman Obama quoted who was warning him about his socialism who ended with the statement, “don’t touch my medicare.” In the U.S. we have Medicare and Medicaid, universal elementary school public education, fine Veteran Administration health care, a public postal service, all kinds of agricultural and other subsidies, and so on, all “socialistic.” Even so, they continue to complain about the possibility that Obama may be trying (horrors) to introduce socialism to the U.S.. Again, if they understand what they are talking about their incessant criticism is dishonest, and if they don’t they are just plain stupid, or again, maybe both.
More importantly, when it comes to universal health care, they are even worse. Some 70 plus percent of the U.S. population is dissatisfied with the status quo and want to see meaningful change. For a large percentage of these people they would prefer a single-payer system, but failing that, at least a public option. So Republicans, with the aid of the so-called “Blue dog Democrats” are opposing not only single-payer (which has not even seriously been considered), but also a public option. As these plans have been studied for years by experts on such topics, and as it is perfectly clear what the facts are, the opposition to universal care is either dishonest or stupid, or both. In this case I opt for dishonest because I know those who oppose any change are being paid off by the Insurance and Pharmaceutical giants who are reaping obscene profits from the current dysfunctional situation. In other words, these corporations and individuals are willing to cause some 47 million of their fellow citizens who do not have any health care, plus even many who do have health care, to continue to suffer and go into bankruptcy in return for bribes. Welcome to the U.S. political system, in all its glorious corruption.
I was amused to see somewhere today that some group (I don’t know who or what it was) wanted people to comment on Sarah Palin, but emphasized they only wanted positive comments. This led one blogger wit to reply, “I am absolutely positive she is a moron.” Personally I believe she is a moron. I also find I am living in fear because of the Palin phenomenon. As she apparently continues to have a following, and as we continue to hear she might be a contender for the Republican nomination for President, I am frightened, knowing there are people that gullible and/or stupid who have the vote. I mean, that George W. Bush could have been elected President was ridiculous enough, the thought of Sarah Palin is really scary (especially coming so closely on the heels of Bush). I guess some people just never learn (which in itself is frightening, when it comes to governing).
Then there is the case of Sonia Sotomayor. Republicans (almost all of them) are going to vote against her for the Supreme Court. Their grounds for doing so are either dishonest or stupid. Sotomayor has a record of 1400 opinions that have been studied carefully. Those who have done this have said there is no record of discrimination whatsoever. She has been highly recommended by the American Bar Association, it is common knowledge that she will be confirmed, but Republicans are going to vote against her. For reasons, they quote (again and again and again) a comment she once made in a speech where she suggested Latino women might (in some contexts) made better decisions that white men. To object to her on this basis is not only deliberately manufacturing a reason, it is dishonest. They also object to her because they think (they do not know) that she might be somewhat against guns. Again, this is no genuine reason to oppose her, just a petty dishonest excuse. They will vote against her because (1) she is a Latino, and (2) she is a woman. They cannot bring themselves to confess they are both racists and sexists, although it is perfectly clear from their questions during the hearings, and now their excuses, that is the case.
LKBIQ:
It's hard to decide if TV makes morons out of everyone or if it mirrors Americans who really are morons to begin with.
Martin Mull
TILT:
Hummingbirds are the only species of bird that can fly backwards.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Too hot!
Quite frankly, it is much too hot here at Sandhill to blog. I have been miserable for the past few days and it continues. My cats, garden, and myself are wilting.
I suggest you reference my Fifth Anniversay blog of Saturday where you may find something of interest until my energy returns.
I suggest you reference my Fifth Anniversay blog of Saturday where you may find something of interest until my energy returns.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Tenth Muse - book
The Tenth Muse My Life in Food, Judith Jones (Alfred A. Knopf, 2007)
It was apparently Brillat-Savarin himself that suggested a tenth Muse, Gasterea, who was to preside over all the pleasures of taste, hence the title of this interesting book about food, cooking, and cookbooks by Judith Jones. You are probably aware of the revolution in American cooking that began with the publication of Julia Child’s famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in the early 1960’s. You may not be aware that it was Judith Jones who, against considerable resistance on the part of several publishers, eventually prevailed and managed to convince Alfred A. Knopf to take a chance on this virtually encyclopedic tome. It was widely believed that American cooks would never take to a detailed and somewhat complicated book on French Cooking, especially after years of being told that cooking was something that should be quick and easy, if not avoided entirely. The enormous and almost immediate success of “Mastering…” came as a pleasant surprise, Julia Child herself, a fantastic personality, became a television star, and profound changes began to occur in American cuisine. Knopf had published a couple of previous cookbooks with limited success but they were not prepared for the Julia Childs tornado. Book tours were not commonplace at the time, and a book tour for the author of a cookbook was unheard of. But it came about with a resounding success and led to a whole series of fine cookbooks on regional and ethnic cuisines, many of the most important ones under the editorship of Judith Jones. I believe it is fair to say that the development of fine cooking, as it exists presently in the U.S., is due as much to Judith Jones as to anyone, including Julia Child. If you look at all the fine cookbooks that are now appearing regularly, many by the finest chefs in America, they cannot, of course all be attributed to Jones, but without her pioneering efforts they would most likely not be appearing at all.
Judith Jones was herself a fine home cook with a lifelong interest in cooking that was further stimulated and refined by her years as a young woman living in Paris. The first part of this book deals with her years in Paris, meeting her husband who was also a fine cook, and their many experiments with various cuisines. I suspect that like many upper middle class Americans, she tends to exaggerate their poverty while living in France (I have reason to believe that this is fairly common but is a topic for another time). In any case, after a few years of experiencing Paris and French cooking, she eventually landed a job at Alfred A. Knopf, publishers, ostensibly to help in the translation of French works into English. A short time after she was there she was handed the Child’s manuscript, which had been rejected by others, and the rest is history. After her enormous success with Julia Child she went on to meet and work with many of our most famous cookbook authors. The Tenth Muse is basically an autobiographical account of her life, as lived in Paris, and subsequently as lived in the world of fine cuisine.
At the end of this interesting account she provides a number of recipes, interesting because they are recipes she used or developed herself after she found herself living alone. They are for one or two people, are relatively easy to prepare, but also quite delicious and satisfying. Although some of them are perhaps a bit idiosyncratic, for anyone who has tried to cook just for themselves, they will be appreciated. From my perspective, I believe Jones has done an extremely valuable service by changing American attitudes towards food and cooking. Alas, this does not mean Americans have given up their taste for fast foods entirely, but important inroads have been made into this unfortunate and unhealthy development, and Judith Jones played an exceedingly important role in changing this unfortunate trend and in the recent history of American cuisine.
Anyone with an interest in fine cooking and fine food will find this an enjoyable and informative book.
It was apparently Brillat-Savarin himself that suggested a tenth Muse, Gasterea, who was to preside over all the pleasures of taste, hence the title of this interesting book about food, cooking, and cookbooks by Judith Jones. You are probably aware of the revolution in American cooking that began with the publication of Julia Child’s famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in the early 1960’s. You may not be aware that it was Judith Jones who, against considerable resistance on the part of several publishers, eventually prevailed and managed to convince Alfred A. Knopf to take a chance on this virtually encyclopedic tome. It was widely believed that American cooks would never take to a detailed and somewhat complicated book on French Cooking, especially after years of being told that cooking was something that should be quick and easy, if not avoided entirely. The enormous and almost immediate success of “Mastering…” came as a pleasant surprise, Julia Child herself, a fantastic personality, became a television star, and profound changes began to occur in American cuisine. Knopf had published a couple of previous cookbooks with limited success but they were not prepared for the Julia Childs tornado. Book tours were not commonplace at the time, and a book tour for the author of a cookbook was unheard of. But it came about with a resounding success and led to a whole series of fine cookbooks on regional and ethnic cuisines, many of the most important ones under the editorship of Judith Jones. I believe it is fair to say that the development of fine cooking, as it exists presently in the U.S., is due as much to Judith Jones as to anyone, including Julia Child. If you look at all the fine cookbooks that are now appearing regularly, many by the finest chefs in America, they cannot, of course all be attributed to Jones, but without her pioneering efforts they would most likely not be appearing at all.
Judith Jones was herself a fine home cook with a lifelong interest in cooking that was further stimulated and refined by her years as a young woman living in Paris. The first part of this book deals with her years in Paris, meeting her husband who was also a fine cook, and their many experiments with various cuisines. I suspect that like many upper middle class Americans, she tends to exaggerate their poverty while living in France (I have reason to believe that this is fairly common but is a topic for another time). In any case, after a few years of experiencing Paris and French cooking, she eventually landed a job at Alfred A. Knopf, publishers, ostensibly to help in the translation of French works into English. A short time after she was there she was handed the Child’s manuscript, which had been rejected by others, and the rest is history. After her enormous success with Julia Child she went on to meet and work with many of our most famous cookbook authors. The Tenth Muse is basically an autobiographical account of her life, as lived in Paris, and subsequently as lived in the world of fine cuisine.
At the end of this interesting account she provides a number of recipes, interesting because they are recipes she used or developed herself after she found herself living alone. They are for one or two people, are relatively easy to prepare, but also quite delicious and satisfying. Although some of them are perhaps a bit idiosyncratic, for anyone who has tried to cook just for themselves, they will be appreciated. From my perspective, I believe Jones has done an extremely valuable service by changing American attitudes towards food and cooking. Alas, this does not mean Americans have given up their taste for fast foods entirely, but important inroads have been made into this unfortunate and unhealthy development, and Judith Jones played an exceedingly important role in changing this unfortunate trend and in the recent history of American cuisine.
Anyone with an interest in fine cooking and fine food will find this an enjoyable and informative book.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Five years!
Much to my amazement, and consternation I might add, today marks the end of five years of Morialekafa. When it began I had little idea even what a blog was, and I certainly never dreamed mine would continue for five years. I just knew that “everyone was doing it,” and that it might be both fun and interesting. It has been both of those things. Of course no one had ever heard of Morialekafa. Those I told about it, counted easily on the fingers of one hand, read it initially but I think soon gave up. I doubt there are more than two or three regular readers even now. I don’t get many hits. I especially don’t get many looking for Morialekafa per se. But what I find the most interesting are the hits I get from literally all over the world. These people are put on to Morialekafa because they have googled some subject I have written about or mentioned, and get directed here. Peculiarly enough, I think, is that I have received more hits for an essay I wrote on “Being an Only Child” than anything else. But this is followed closely by, believe it or not, by the subjects of sardines and pickled pigs’ feet. There are others, of course, but not with the frequency of the above. If nothing else this has filled me with a genuine sense of awe about the internet. The fact that it literally reaches people even in the far corners of the world remains a wonderful, even magical phenomenon for me. I don’t understand it but I love it.
Morialekafa was not started to be particularly political, but over the years has become quite political. This seemed to be inevitable, as I first watched with disbelief at the Bush/Cheney administration, then with disenchantment, and finally with utter disgust. This has led me to rant and rave sometimes with increasing emotion. I doubt anyone cares, but it does keep me from kicking my cats, beating my wife, and yelling at my son. I remain totally upset about what has happened to our country and I fear I will expire before I see justice done to the war criminals responsible for bringing us to the abominable condition in which we now find ourselves.
For anyone who might be interested, I have compiled a list of basically non-political topics Morialekafa has published over the past five years. These consist of brief essays, short stories, and comments on books and movies. I hope you might find something of interest.
Essays (of sorts)
On Deodorant 7-31-04
On Knitting 8-07-04
Beliefs 8-14-04
Movie and TV Ratings 8-21-04
Journalism 8-28-04
Wisdom Teeth 9-04-04
On Names 9-11-04
Human Universals 9-25-04
On Being an Only Child 10-02-04
Divorce 10-17-04
Cats 10-24-04
On Cute 10-31-04
Advice 11-7-04
On Anxiety 11-13-04
Things I Was Told as a Child 11`-21-04
On White 11-28-04
Death and the Mechanical Model 12-09-04
Holidays 12-21-04
Valley Girls in the Kitchen 12-24-04
Wearing Glasses 1-01-05
Men and Secretaries 1-11-05
On Perversity 1-22-05
On Chewing 1-28-05
Tennis Shoes 2-05-05
Turkey Breasts 2-13-05
Black Hats 3-04-05
Exercise 3-10-05
Frozen Potatoes? 4-14-05
Government Waste 4-25-05
Women and Ice Cream 5-09-05
Put the Seat Up 5-13-05
No TV and Manners 5-20-05
Cell Phones 5-22-05
Wuthering 6-09-05
School Plays 7-14-05
The Church of the Great Mystery 8-03-05
Pickled Pigs Feet 8-14-05
Women and Telephones 8-26-05
Fast Food 9-16-05
A Lesson from the Gila Monster 10-21-05
Bathrooms 10-24-05
Travel is Educational 11-08-05
Gadjets 11-23-05
Save Them 12-18-05
Payments 1-25-06
All You Can Eat 2-12-06
Ask Your Doctor 3-17-06
Reflections on Toilets 5-26-06
Round Up the Usual Tripe 7-01-06
The Vast Storage Epidemic 8-27-06
Never Satisfied 9-29-06
Useless Words and Phrases 10-06-06
On Jokes 10-21-06
Themes of Culture 11-22-06
Why Chickens 2-04-07
Sex, Diets and Chicken Breasts 3-18-07
Milestones in Growing Old 4-21-07
Sins and Virtues 5-10-07
Women and Cookbooks 6-09-07
Themes of Culture 8-01-07
The Concept of the Soul 8-07-07
Drugs 8-17-07
Lutefisk 5-01-08
On Bullshit 6-02-08
On Truth 6-04-08
Real People? 7-03-08
Dining on the Road 7-09-08
The Slave Ship 7-27-08
The Fifth Great Blow 8-29-08
What (or Who) is a Dork? 9-01-08
Seven Deadly Sins 9-13-08
Vienna Style 10-22-08
Greatest Movies 11-24-08
Life in the Land of Plenty 1-17-09
Nacirema Revisited 2-02-09
Addiction 2-24-09
On Hobbies 3-07-09
On Google Recipes 3-21-09
Short Stories
Huckleberries 1-14-05
I Remember Bernard 1-30-05
Frenchy Don’t-You-Know 3-12-05
On the Konigstrasse 4-04-05
Quentin III 4-21-05
Welcome to Southern California 4-30-05
Ugly 5-29-05
Reunion 6-25-05
Charlie the Hook 7-21-05
Flowers for Armando 7-31-05
Old Man 8-21-05
The Billiard Room 9-07-05
By the Waterfall 12-02-05
Yosio 1-11-06
Donkey 3-04-06
A Passion for Liverwurst 5-18-06
The Goatherd 7-12-06
Delivering a Mattress 5-29-07
Bird on a String 7-20-07
The Last Duck 5-09-08
Dawdle 4-29-09
Comments on Books/Movies
For Whom the Bell Tolls 7-02-05
The Lost One 1-07-06
The Godfather – comments 3-14-06
Cannibalism 6-16-07
The Devil in the White City 2-16-07
Apocalypto 8-14-07
Blood on the Wattle 8-16-07
A Long Way Gone 10-27-07
Two Books 11-10-07
How Soccer Explains the World
How Soccer Explains the World
Columbus and Other Cannibals
Murder in Amsterdam 11-19-07
East of the Sun 12-01-07
The Old Way 11-15-08
The Devil Came on Horseback 4-20-08
Casablanca 1-03-09
My Life in France 1-30-09
Big Trouble 2-26-09
A Thousand Splendid Suns 2-28-09
The Forever War 3-14-09
The Man With No Face 3-20-09
Dorothy Parker 3-28-09
Mencken 4-14-09
Crazy Good 4-24-09
Pablo Neruda 4-30-09
A Land So Strange 5-17-09
Armenian Golgotha 5-25-09
The Devil in the Kitchen 5-31-09
Columbine 6-07-09
Go Down Together 6-14-09
Corelli’s Mandolin 6-28-09
The Great Mortality 7-12-09
The Sacco-Vanzetti Affair 7-19-09
Morialekafa was not started to be particularly political, but over the years has become quite political. This seemed to be inevitable, as I first watched with disbelief at the Bush/Cheney administration, then with disenchantment, and finally with utter disgust. This has led me to rant and rave sometimes with increasing emotion. I doubt anyone cares, but it does keep me from kicking my cats, beating my wife, and yelling at my son. I remain totally upset about what has happened to our country and I fear I will expire before I see justice done to the war criminals responsible for bringing us to the abominable condition in which we now find ourselves.
For anyone who might be interested, I have compiled a list of basically non-political topics Morialekafa has published over the past five years. These consist of brief essays, short stories, and comments on books and movies. I hope you might find something of interest.
Essays (of sorts)
On Deodorant 7-31-04
On Knitting 8-07-04
Beliefs 8-14-04
Movie and TV Ratings 8-21-04
Journalism 8-28-04
Wisdom Teeth 9-04-04
On Names 9-11-04
Human Universals 9-25-04
On Being an Only Child 10-02-04
Divorce 10-17-04
Cats 10-24-04
On Cute 10-31-04
Advice 11-7-04
On Anxiety 11-13-04
Things I Was Told as a Child 11`-21-04
On White 11-28-04
Death and the Mechanical Model 12-09-04
Holidays 12-21-04
Valley Girls in the Kitchen 12-24-04
Wearing Glasses 1-01-05
Men and Secretaries 1-11-05
On Perversity 1-22-05
On Chewing 1-28-05
Tennis Shoes 2-05-05
Turkey Breasts 2-13-05
Black Hats 3-04-05
Exercise 3-10-05
Frozen Potatoes? 4-14-05
Government Waste 4-25-05
Women and Ice Cream 5-09-05
Put the Seat Up 5-13-05
No TV and Manners 5-20-05
Cell Phones 5-22-05
Wuthering 6-09-05
School Plays 7-14-05
The Church of the Great Mystery 8-03-05
Pickled Pigs Feet 8-14-05
Women and Telephones 8-26-05
Fast Food 9-16-05
A Lesson from the Gila Monster 10-21-05
Bathrooms 10-24-05
Travel is Educational 11-08-05
Gadjets 11-23-05
Save Them 12-18-05
Payments 1-25-06
All You Can Eat 2-12-06
Ask Your Doctor 3-17-06
Reflections on Toilets 5-26-06
Round Up the Usual Tripe 7-01-06
The Vast Storage Epidemic 8-27-06
Never Satisfied 9-29-06
Useless Words and Phrases 10-06-06
On Jokes 10-21-06
Themes of Culture 11-22-06
Why Chickens 2-04-07
Sex, Diets and Chicken Breasts 3-18-07
Milestones in Growing Old 4-21-07
Sins and Virtues 5-10-07
Women and Cookbooks 6-09-07
Themes of Culture 8-01-07
The Concept of the Soul 8-07-07
Drugs 8-17-07
Lutefisk 5-01-08
On Bullshit 6-02-08
On Truth 6-04-08
Real People? 7-03-08
Dining on the Road 7-09-08
The Slave Ship 7-27-08
The Fifth Great Blow 8-29-08
What (or Who) is a Dork? 9-01-08
Seven Deadly Sins 9-13-08
Vienna Style 10-22-08
Greatest Movies 11-24-08
Life in the Land of Plenty 1-17-09
Nacirema Revisited 2-02-09
Addiction 2-24-09
On Hobbies 3-07-09
On Google Recipes 3-21-09
Short Stories
Huckleberries 1-14-05
I Remember Bernard 1-30-05
Frenchy Don’t-You-Know 3-12-05
On the Konigstrasse 4-04-05
Quentin III 4-21-05
Welcome to Southern California 4-30-05
Ugly 5-29-05
Reunion 6-25-05
Charlie the Hook 7-21-05
Flowers for Armando 7-31-05
Old Man 8-21-05
The Billiard Room 9-07-05
By the Waterfall 12-02-05
Yosio 1-11-06
Donkey 3-04-06
A Passion for Liverwurst 5-18-06
The Goatherd 7-12-06
Delivering a Mattress 5-29-07
Bird on a String 7-20-07
The Last Duck 5-09-08
Dawdle 4-29-09
Comments on Books/Movies
For Whom the Bell Tolls 7-02-05
The Lost One 1-07-06
The Godfather – comments 3-14-06
Cannibalism 6-16-07
The Devil in the White City 2-16-07
Apocalypto 8-14-07
Blood on the Wattle 8-16-07
A Long Way Gone 10-27-07
Two Books 11-10-07
How Soccer Explains the World
How Soccer Explains the World
Columbus and Other Cannibals
Murder in Amsterdam 11-19-07
East of the Sun 12-01-07
The Old Way 11-15-08
The Devil Came on Horseback 4-20-08
Casablanca 1-03-09
My Life in France 1-30-09
Big Trouble 2-26-09
A Thousand Splendid Suns 2-28-09
The Forever War 3-14-09
The Man With No Face 3-20-09
Dorothy Parker 3-28-09
Mencken 4-14-09
Crazy Good 4-24-09
Pablo Neruda 4-30-09
A Land So Strange 5-17-09
Armenian Golgotha 5-25-09
The Devil in the Kitchen 5-31-09
Columbine 6-07-09
Go Down Together 6-14-09
Corelli’s Mandolin 6-28-09
The Great Mortality 7-12-09
The Sacco-Vanzetti Affair 7-19-09
Friday, July 24, 2009
Amazing!
Woman auctions her virginity
to help ailing mother, but
no kisses or caresses allowed.
Absolutely amazing. I’m tempted to say, only in America, but upon reflection I’m sure there are other governments just as stupid and uncaring as this one. I’m speaking of health care, of course. Virtually everyone who has studied the issue agrees that a single-payer system would be the best, in terms of efficiency, cost, and universal coverage. Even the President of our country acknowledges that a single-payer system would be the best. A huge percentage of the American population is in favor of a single-payer system. Many leaders in Congress agree that it would be the best system. Canada and other countries have such health care and like it. However, here at home, a single-payer system is apparently not even under serious consideration. Why is this so? Well, some of our Congresspersons, mostly Republicans, are not interested in the health of their constituents or the American public, being only interested in their party and in destroying the other party (it’s their strange idea of politics as usual). Then there are those who, apparently ignorant of the meaning of the term socialism, don’t want a single-payer system because they insist it is socialism (you know, like the Post Office, universal public education, medicare, veterans benefits, and such, that we already practice). There are also those, mostly corporations, that make enormous profits from the existing terribly expensive and terribly flawed system that now exists, so they don’t wish to change it. There are also a small number of Democrats who are paid by these same corporations to sell out 47 million of their fellow citizens for pieces of silver. Finally, there are also the terribly, even obscenely wealthy, that cannot bear to think of giving up even one percent of their fortunes to help others who are less fortunate. The fact that America is the only one of the most “advanced,” “civilizations,” on the planet that does not provide universal health care matters not a whit to those who take the basic position, “I’ve got mine, screw everyone else,” like many of our Congresspersons. I suppose this is only to be expected in a culture that believes “greed is good,” “shop til’ you drop” is a virtue, “he who has the most toys wins,” and apparently can’t built storage fast enough to contain all their excess possessions (probably mostly junk). We desperately need, I fear, a cultural revolution. Even Harry and Louise have come around and now want universal health care. It seems everybody does, but, like the weather, no one does anything (sensible) about it. This bickering about health care has been going on since the time of FDR. Obama is right, it’s time to do something about it. NOW.
I return, somewhat reluctantly, once again, to the subject of Afghanistan. I am still waiting for someone, anyone, to explain to me what the hell we are doing in Afghanistan. We will soon have some 68,000 troops in that far off land, for reasons I cannot fathom. Yesterday, I think it was, I heard some big mucky-muck explain that we would be there for many years because we want to create a nation that…that…that…I think will be able to become a self-sufficient one, with a stable government, capable of managing its own affairs, and whatever. Afghanistan has never been such a nation and most probably never will. But even if it could be, what business is it of ours to waste our troops and money trying to establish such a country. The Afghans didn’t ask for this, and don’t want us there. They got along for centuries, turning back everyone who tried to conquer them. And nation building is certainly not the goal that was explained to us when we attacked them, ostensibly looking for Osama bin Laden, whom we have never found, even though for years we have claimed to know where he was. Nor did we go there initially to fight the Taliban, we went there to presumably fight al Quaida, but somehow this has become a “war” against the Taliban (which the Afghans themselves would probably throw out of their country if we were not there butting in to their business). Most everyone now admits Afghanistan is a mess, we don’t have a really clear cut goal for that troubled part of the world, but, as in Vietnam, we just can’t bring ourselves to acknowledge defeat. It reminds me of a joke I once read, where a boy was asked to use the words defeat, deduct, defense, and detail in a single sentence. He replied “de feet(in Afghanistan) of de duck (al Qaida) went over de fence (to Pakistan) before de tail (we had any plan). Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
Will we, as a nation, ever go back to insisting that our elected leaders do something for the public that elected them, or will we continue just stuffing the fat cats and corporations that have managed to take over the world? We have arrived at a point, I think, where no one even expects our leaders to do the right thing by the public. We criticize other nations like Mexico and Iraq for corruption while we have elevated corruption to a level heretofore undreamed of.
LKBIQ:
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.
Unknown, Often attributed to Abraham Lincoln
TILT:
Characters based upon the Apache leader, Geronimo, appear in more than 25 movies.
to help ailing mother, but
no kisses or caresses allowed.
Absolutely amazing. I’m tempted to say, only in America, but upon reflection I’m sure there are other governments just as stupid and uncaring as this one. I’m speaking of health care, of course. Virtually everyone who has studied the issue agrees that a single-payer system would be the best, in terms of efficiency, cost, and universal coverage. Even the President of our country acknowledges that a single-payer system would be the best. A huge percentage of the American population is in favor of a single-payer system. Many leaders in Congress agree that it would be the best system. Canada and other countries have such health care and like it. However, here at home, a single-payer system is apparently not even under serious consideration. Why is this so? Well, some of our Congresspersons, mostly Republicans, are not interested in the health of their constituents or the American public, being only interested in their party and in destroying the other party (it’s their strange idea of politics as usual). Then there are those who, apparently ignorant of the meaning of the term socialism, don’t want a single-payer system because they insist it is socialism (you know, like the Post Office, universal public education, medicare, veterans benefits, and such, that we already practice). There are also those, mostly corporations, that make enormous profits from the existing terribly expensive and terribly flawed system that now exists, so they don’t wish to change it. There are also a small number of Democrats who are paid by these same corporations to sell out 47 million of their fellow citizens for pieces of silver. Finally, there are also the terribly, even obscenely wealthy, that cannot bear to think of giving up even one percent of their fortunes to help others who are less fortunate. The fact that America is the only one of the most “advanced,” “civilizations,” on the planet that does not provide universal health care matters not a whit to those who take the basic position, “I’ve got mine, screw everyone else,” like many of our Congresspersons. I suppose this is only to be expected in a culture that believes “greed is good,” “shop til’ you drop” is a virtue, “he who has the most toys wins,” and apparently can’t built storage fast enough to contain all their excess possessions (probably mostly junk). We desperately need, I fear, a cultural revolution. Even Harry and Louise have come around and now want universal health care. It seems everybody does, but, like the weather, no one does anything (sensible) about it. This bickering about health care has been going on since the time of FDR. Obama is right, it’s time to do something about it. NOW.
I return, somewhat reluctantly, once again, to the subject of Afghanistan. I am still waiting for someone, anyone, to explain to me what the hell we are doing in Afghanistan. We will soon have some 68,000 troops in that far off land, for reasons I cannot fathom. Yesterday, I think it was, I heard some big mucky-muck explain that we would be there for many years because we want to create a nation that…that…that…I think will be able to become a self-sufficient one, with a stable government, capable of managing its own affairs, and whatever. Afghanistan has never been such a nation and most probably never will. But even if it could be, what business is it of ours to waste our troops and money trying to establish such a country. The Afghans didn’t ask for this, and don’t want us there. They got along for centuries, turning back everyone who tried to conquer them. And nation building is certainly not the goal that was explained to us when we attacked them, ostensibly looking for Osama bin Laden, whom we have never found, even though for years we have claimed to know where he was. Nor did we go there initially to fight the Taliban, we went there to presumably fight al Quaida, but somehow this has become a “war” against the Taliban (which the Afghans themselves would probably throw out of their country if we were not there butting in to their business). Most everyone now admits Afghanistan is a mess, we don’t have a really clear cut goal for that troubled part of the world, but, as in Vietnam, we just can’t bring ourselves to acknowledge defeat. It reminds me of a joke I once read, where a boy was asked to use the words defeat, deduct, defense, and detail in a single sentence. He replied “de feet(in Afghanistan) of de duck (al Qaida) went over de fence (to Pakistan) before de tail (we had any plan). Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
Will we, as a nation, ever go back to insisting that our elected leaders do something for the public that elected them, or will we continue just stuffing the fat cats and corporations that have managed to take over the world? We have arrived at a point, I think, where no one even expects our leaders to do the right thing by the public. We criticize other nations like Mexico and Iraq for corruption while we have elevated corruption to a level heretofore undreamed of.
LKBIQ:
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.
Unknown, Often attributed to Abraham Lincoln
TILT:
Characters based upon the Apache leader, Geronimo, appear in more than 25 movies.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
What a pleasure
Ohio man vacates house,
leaves behind 100 cats
and incredible stench.
What a pleasure to watch a President who actually knows what he is talking about, doesn’t need a “wire,” and is completely comfortable with himself. Can you even imagine George W. Bush giving such a Press Conference? It seems to me that whether you agree with Obama or not, you have to give him credit for being well-informed about all aspects of his health care legislation. I am beginning to believe we may actually, after all these wasted years, get an improvement in our system of health care. Of course it won’t be the most sensible and efficient single-payer plan that most everyone knows would be by far the best, but it will have to be an improvement over the dismal system we currently suffer. Go Obama!
I am really proud of myself today. I managed to get through the entire day without even peeking at the idiot box (except for Obama’s Press Conference). I might have watched my favorite Rachel Maddow, but when she started merely repeating what I had just heard Obama say I gave it up. This is just one of the things I don’t understand about the media. Why do they assume they should have to repeat precisely what you have just been listening to? Do they think you are just not bright enough to understand it? I find this process, which occurs all too frequently, in fact, almost always, to be extremely irritating, to say nothing of a complete waste of time. I have been lobbying my wife to move somewhere and leave the TV behind. I am weak, weak as water, as Molly Sugdan used to say on Are You Being Served, and if I have one of the stupid things I cannot completely ignore it. My thoughts are turning more and more to Lund, British Columbia, but I doubt it will ever happen.
What on earth is going on? Congress actually turned down the billions of dollars white elephant F22. And not only that, they turned down the NRA attempt to allow people to carry concealed weapons anywhere in the U.S. irrespective of any local laws to the contrary. So…a defeat for the Military Industrial Political complex and a defeat for the usually all powerful NRA, what’s the world coming to? Next they may actually turn down some money for the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians. If they would just cut the bloated, obscene Pentagon budget by the 50% it probably deserves, and if they would shut down our hundreds of overseas bases, we’d soon be on easy street. But it’s nice to know they took one tiny step in that direction.
It appears that Obama may be entirely serious about the expansion of Israeli settlements. I read somewhere today that our administration is threatening to withhold a billion dollars of the billions Israel usually scores from us year after year. Wouldn’t that be a shocker (if it’s really true)? Netanyahu has now claimed Israel has complete ownership of Jerusalem and therefore can build there as much as it desires. The fact that this is untrue seems not to faze him. Will Obama stay firm and insist that the Israeli’s curb their insatiable appetite for stolen territory, or will he, as all Presidents before him, just kneel to the outrageously illegal claims no matter what?
What do you do with people who simply refuse to believe things that are as true as things can be true? The “Birthers” are a case in point. Obama’s citizenship has been clearly established in the only way such a thing can be established, but the Birthers simply refuse to believe it. We can’t just dismiss such people as schizophrenic as many, if not most of them, are otherwise apparently sane. It’s the same thing with those who don’t believe we actually landed a man on the moon. They just don’t believe it, and won’t believe it no matter what evidence you provide. More importantly, how about those poor souls (and there are so many of them in the U.S. it’s frightening) who refuse to believe in evolution. What do these people do, just ignore everything they hear and see? That is, virtually every day you see or hear some reference to the age of the earth, geological time, the extinction of animals thousands of years ago, the discovery of new dinosaur bones, remains of human activity more than 6000 years ago, and so on. No matter what you believe, you cannot escape hearing about such things, unless you are completely tuned out to radio, newspapers, tv, and even normal conversations (or perhaps do not possess a fully functional human brain). The few people I have encountered who claim not to believe in evolution, when you question them about these things, do not respond to the questions, saying simply, and repeatedly, “I believe what the bible says.” Being a liberal I tend to think that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, when you have large numbers of such people, and they elect Congresspersons or Presidents who believe in such nonsense, it becomes an actual danger to your country as it allows the rest of the world to leave you behind. So what can you do, short of a “cultural revolution?” If anyone has a plausible answer, please let me know.
LKBIQ:
To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.
Gustave Flaubert
TILT:
I thought you might need this recipe:
Moose Nose
1 Moose Nose; hide and hair
-intact
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Sprigs fresh thyme OR 1/2
ts Dried thyme
1 Bay leaf
8 Sprigs parsley
1 ts Black Peppercorns
3 Stalks Celery
Place nose, complete w/ hide and hair, in lg. stock pot. Cover the
nose w/ water. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, and continue boiling
for about 1 hr. Drain water. When nose is cool, remove hide and
hair. Rinse meat in cold water. Return meat to pot, covering it with
cold water. Add salt and pepper, thyme, bay leaf, parsley,
peppercorns, and celery. Bring contents to a boil and boil nose until
tender. Remove from water and allow to cool. Slice thinly and serve
chilled w/ Gribeche Sauce.
leaves behind 100 cats
and incredible stench.
What a pleasure to watch a President who actually knows what he is talking about, doesn’t need a “wire,” and is completely comfortable with himself. Can you even imagine George W. Bush giving such a Press Conference? It seems to me that whether you agree with Obama or not, you have to give him credit for being well-informed about all aspects of his health care legislation. I am beginning to believe we may actually, after all these wasted years, get an improvement in our system of health care. Of course it won’t be the most sensible and efficient single-payer plan that most everyone knows would be by far the best, but it will have to be an improvement over the dismal system we currently suffer. Go Obama!
I am really proud of myself today. I managed to get through the entire day without even peeking at the idiot box (except for Obama’s Press Conference). I might have watched my favorite Rachel Maddow, but when she started merely repeating what I had just heard Obama say I gave it up. This is just one of the things I don’t understand about the media. Why do they assume they should have to repeat precisely what you have just been listening to? Do they think you are just not bright enough to understand it? I find this process, which occurs all too frequently, in fact, almost always, to be extremely irritating, to say nothing of a complete waste of time. I have been lobbying my wife to move somewhere and leave the TV behind. I am weak, weak as water, as Molly Sugdan used to say on Are You Being Served, and if I have one of the stupid things I cannot completely ignore it. My thoughts are turning more and more to Lund, British Columbia, but I doubt it will ever happen.
What on earth is going on? Congress actually turned down the billions of dollars white elephant F22. And not only that, they turned down the NRA attempt to allow people to carry concealed weapons anywhere in the U.S. irrespective of any local laws to the contrary. So…a defeat for the Military Industrial Political complex and a defeat for the usually all powerful NRA, what’s the world coming to? Next they may actually turn down some money for the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians. If they would just cut the bloated, obscene Pentagon budget by the 50% it probably deserves, and if they would shut down our hundreds of overseas bases, we’d soon be on easy street. But it’s nice to know they took one tiny step in that direction.
It appears that Obama may be entirely serious about the expansion of Israeli settlements. I read somewhere today that our administration is threatening to withhold a billion dollars of the billions Israel usually scores from us year after year. Wouldn’t that be a shocker (if it’s really true)? Netanyahu has now claimed Israel has complete ownership of Jerusalem and therefore can build there as much as it desires. The fact that this is untrue seems not to faze him. Will Obama stay firm and insist that the Israeli’s curb their insatiable appetite for stolen territory, or will he, as all Presidents before him, just kneel to the outrageously illegal claims no matter what?
What do you do with people who simply refuse to believe things that are as true as things can be true? The “Birthers” are a case in point. Obama’s citizenship has been clearly established in the only way such a thing can be established, but the Birthers simply refuse to believe it. We can’t just dismiss such people as schizophrenic as many, if not most of them, are otherwise apparently sane. It’s the same thing with those who don’t believe we actually landed a man on the moon. They just don’t believe it, and won’t believe it no matter what evidence you provide. More importantly, how about those poor souls (and there are so many of them in the U.S. it’s frightening) who refuse to believe in evolution. What do these people do, just ignore everything they hear and see? That is, virtually every day you see or hear some reference to the age of the earth, geological time, the extinction of animals thousands of years ago, the discovery of new dinosaur bones, remains of human activity more than 6000 years ago, and so on. No matter what you believe, you cannot escape hearing about such things, unless you are completely tuned out to radio, newspapers, tv, and even normal conversations (or perhaps do not possess a fully functional human brain). The few people I have encountered who claim not to believe in evolution, when you question them about these things, do not respond to the questions, saying simply, and repeatedly, “I believe what the bible says.” Being a liberal I tend to think that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, when you have large numbers of such people, and they elect Congresspersons or Presidents who believe in such nonsense, it becomes an actual danger to your country as it allows the rest of the world to leave you behind. So what can you do, short of a “cultural revolution?” If anyone has a plausible answer, please let me know.
LKBIQ:
To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.
Gustave Flaubert
TILT:
I thought you might need this recipe:
Moose Nose
1 Moose Nose; hide and hair
-intact
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Sprigs fresh thyme OR 1/2
ts Dried thyme
1 Bay leaf
8 Sprigs parsley
1 ts Black Peppercorns
3 Stalks Celery
Place nose, complete w/ hide and hair, in lg. stock pot. Cover the
nose w/ water. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, and continue boiling
for about 1 hr. Drain water. When nose is cool, remove hide and
hair. Rinse meat in cold water. Return meat to pot, covering it with
cold water. Add salt and pepper, thyme, bay leaf, parsley,
peppercorns, and celery. Bring contents to a boil and boil nose until
tender. Remove from water and allow to cool. Slice thinly and serve
chilled w/ Gribeche Sauce.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Witch hunt?
New Zealand teenager
tries to auction naked
pictures of his mother.
It has already started. Just the mention of the possibility that our Attorney General might appoint a special investigator to look into the torture question has prompted the first cries of “witch hunt.” The Republicans will obviously oppose any attempt at accountability and justice when it comes to Bush/Cheney and the rest of the criminal gang that spent the last eight years ruining our country. There is no “hunt” involved here, the “witches,” if one wishes to call them that, are well known and have even confessed already to some of their misdeeds. Thus it is not as if we think something might have happened and want to learn about it, we know it happened and seek accountability. We know that U.S. law, International law, and the constitution itself were violated. For Republicans to try to obfuscate and confuse this particular investigation is to verify once again that law and the constitution, as well as the well-being of our nation, do not concern them. They are interested only in clinging to and trying to re-establish the power they so shamefully abused for so long. In my opinion this is immorality writ large and should by all rights destroy any credibility they claim. This is not about some relatively insignificant political disagreement. We are dealing here with the deaths of thousands of our best young people, injuries (probably permanent) to many thousands more, the deaths of perhaps as many as a million innocent Iraqis, the displacement of up to four million, torture and other war crimes, and human misery untold. It is understandable why they would like to see it swept under the rug, so to speak, but if they want to pretend it didn’t happen, and the leaders of their party were not responsible, the rest of the world is not going to forget it. And if the U.S., having created the Nuremburg trials, refuses to investigate our own war criminals and hold them responsible, our hypocrisy and arrogance will be forever displayed, and our image in the world will be damaged forever. The question for Eric Holder cannot be whether to investigate, only who to appoint.
I must say, the Republican party is putting on a show that would make the Keystone Kops jealous. They opposed the stimulus, with no plan of their own. Now they are opposing health care with no plan of their own. Some of their most prominent figures have had trouble keeping their pants on and just dig themselves deeper in their scandals every day. Their supposedly hot shot Governor (of Alaska) resigned after one of the most absurd speeches ever heard, and is herself mired in scandal. Their Chairman rants against Obama’s health care proposal but obviously doesn’t understand it, and doesn’t even know for sure what health insurance he has himself. They opposed Sotomayor for the Supreme Court even before she was announced and have now exposed their blatant racism for the world to see. They have stupidly made it clear they have nothing to offer and are deliberately attempting to destroy Obama and say “no” to everything he wants to do, no matter what it is. Their party is split now between those absolute crazies who think Obama is not really a citizen of the U.S., and those who are so embarrassed by this they want to hide in their closets. One of their putative “leaders” at the moment is a fat, loud-mouthed, draft-dodging, drug addicted, bag of pig pucky, who is also a pathological liar. Some of their Senators have made utter fools of themselves, especially during the Sotomayor hearings, and come across as too stupid to breath. In my relatively long life I have never seen a performance as dismal as this. I cannot conceive of anything they could possibly do to refurbish themselves as a viable political party. It appears to me that when they lost the White House to Bill Clinton, an infectious immorality took over the party, shepherded by Karl Rove who abandoned ordinary politics in favor of “roviating” opponents. What inevitably happened when they renounced their country in favor of their party, renounced politics in favor of crime, and left an absolute disaster in their wake is what we are seeing and trying to deal with now. The best thing these remnants of what was once a genuine political party could do now is just shut up and get out of the way.
LKBIQ:
I came from a disadvantaged home. They were Republicans.
Paul Tsongas
TILT:
Scalping was not universal among American Indians, and there is no evidence those who practiced it learned it from Europeans.
tries to auction naked
pictures of his mother.
It has already started. Just the mention of the possibility that our Attorney General might appoint a special investigator to look into the torture question has prompted the first cries of “witch hunt.” The Republicans will obviously oppose any attempt at accountability and justice when it comes to Bush/Cheney and the rest of the criminal gang that spent the last eight years ruining our country. There is no “hunt” involved here, the “witches,” if one wishes to call them that, are well known and have even confessed already to some of their misdeeds. Thus it is not as if we think something might have happened and want to learn about it, we know it happened and seek accountability. We know that U.S. law, International law, and the constitution itself were violated. For Republicans to try to obfuscate and confuse this particular investigation is to verify once again that law and the constitution, as well as the well-being of our nation, do not concern them. They are interested only in clinging to and trying to re-establish the power they so shamefully abused for so long. In my opinion this is immorality writ large and should by all rights destroy any credibility they claim. This is not about some relatively insignificant political disagreement. We are dealing here with the deaths of thousands of our best young people, injuries (probably permanent) to many thousands more, the deaths of perhaps as many as a million innocent Iraqis, the displacement of up to four million, torture and other war crimes, and human misery untold. It is understandable why they would like to see it swept under the rug, so to speak, but if they want to pretend it didn’t happen, and the leaders of their party were not responsible, the rest of the world is not going to forget it. And if the U.S., having created the Nuremburg trials, refuses to investigate our own war criminals and hold them responsible, our hypocrisy and arrogance will be forever displayed, and our image in the world will be damaged forever. The question for Eric Holder cannot be whether to investigate, only who to appoint.
I must say, the Republican party is putting on a show that would make the Keystone Kops jealous. They opposed the stimulus, with no plan of their own. Now they are opposing health care with no plan of their own. Some of their most prominent figures have had trouble keeping their pants on and just dig themselves deeper in their scandals every day. Their supposedly hot shot Governor (of Alaska) resigned after one of the most absurd speeches ever heard, and is herself mired in scandal. Their Chairman rants against Obama’s health care proposal but obviously doesn’t understand it, and doesn’t even know for sure what health insurance he has himself. They opposed Sotomayor for the Supreme Court even before she was announced and have now exposed their blatant racism for the world to see. They have stupidly made it clear they have nothing to offer and are deliberately attempting to destroy Obama and say “no” to everything he wants to do, no matter what it is. Their party is split now between those absolute crazies who think Obama is not really a citizen of the U.S., and those who are so embarrassed by this they want to hide in their closets. One of their putative “leaders” at the moment is a fat, loud-mouthed, draft-dodging, drug addicted, bag of pig pucky, who is also a pathological liar. Some of their Senators have made utter fools of themselves, especially during the Sotomayor hearings, and come across as too stupid to breath. In my relatively long life I have never seen a performance as dismal as this. I cannot conceive of anything they could possibly do to refurbish themselves as a viable political party. It appears to me that when they lost the White House to Bill Clinton, an infectious immorality took over the party, shepherded by Karl Rove who abandoned ordinary politics in favor of “roviating” opponents. What inevitably happened when they renounced their country in favor of their party, renounced politics in favor of crime, and left an absolute disaster in their wake is what we are seeing and trying to deal with now. The best thing these remnants of what was once a genuine political party could do now is just shut up and get out of the way.
LKBIQ:
I came from a disadvantaged home. They were Republicans.
Paul Tsongas
TILT:
Scalping was not universal among American Indians, and there is no evidence those who practiced it learned it from Europeans.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Please, don't make me laugh
Three nuns arrested for
driving 120 miles per hour
on their way to see Pope.
Please don’t make me laugh. Our Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, has announced that if progress can’t be made in Afghanistan by the end of the year, the American public will stop supporting the “war” there. Progress? In Afghanistan? In a year? If that isn’t the silliest thing I’ve heard in a long time I guess I wouldn’t recognize silly when I see it. Hey, Gates, how about 100 years, maybe more? Now he plans to send another 22,000 troops there. I wonder when we’ll reach the number we had in Vietnam? I wonder where he plans to get these troops? Anyway, this whole Afghanistan business is laughable, or would be if we weren’t losing so many of our young people there, completely wasting their time. There has never been any doubt in my mind from the very beginning of Obama’s vow to send more troops to Afghanistan that it would turn out to be his Vietnam, and it is. Doesn’t it make you wonder how such presumably intelligent people can be so wrong for so long? Maybe not, after the Vietnam debacle.
Another development that would be laughable if it were not so tragic is the fact that a small number of Democratic Congresspersons are threatening to deny health insurance to some 50 million people, men, women, and children. Think of that. Fifty million people are a lot, or at least they used to be before we discovered the magic words billion and trillion. Anyway, can you believe these people who would deny health care to so many millions just because they are being paid money to do so by those who have a vested interest in keeping the system as dysfunctional as it is. Now that’s what I call real public service.
And can you believe that another Republican in Congress actually said publicly that if they could defeat Obama on health care it would be his waterloo and he would be finished? I guess he, too, is vitally interested in doing his best for the public well-being. This would have to be seen as so stupid as to be laughable, but again it is serious politics for these greedy, short-sighted, selfish, nincompoops who call themselves Republicans. Michael Steele, Republican party chairman, helped out by accusing Obama of a “dangerous experiment” with our lives, on, of course, his road to socialism. When questioned about details of the proposed legislation Steele had to admit he didn’t really know anything about it. Is that not laughable? Of course it is also pathetic. I’m absolutely convinced these Republicans must be totally unaware of their stupidity. I have always believed that George W. Bush was marginally retarded, now I believe this is true of Republicans in general. They certainly did nothing during the Sotomayor hearings to disabuse me of this belief, and their behavior with respect to health care is just more reinforcement.
The MSM continues on in its own laughable interpretation of what is news. David Schuster, when talking about health care and other important topics had to insert a segment on Paula whats-her-face, who has something-or-other to do with American Idol. I think it had to do with how much money she was holding out for in her new contract. Now that is real news, right up there with health care, the economy, the “wars,” I guess the daily segment on Michael Jackson wasn’t available at the time, or perhaps there wasn’t a car chase going on somewhere in Podunk.
Finally, for the moment, what could be more laughable than the “birthers.” These “true believers” are convinced that Obama was not born in the U.S. and therefore is not our legitimate President. Even though Obama’s birth certificate has been made available, and even though its legitimacy has been verified by the state of Hawaii, and even though there is no credible evidence to the contrary, these conspiracy freaks still refuse to believe it. This would be completely laughable except for the fact that no less than Lou Dobbs himself has lent some credence to it, and there are said to be at least ten Congresspersons who are also moving in that direction. I suspect the phrase “get a life” was created for just such people. Not to worry, there is probably no belief on earth so far-fetched that someone won’t believe it. Some people even believe that Sarah Palin is a serious candidate for the Presidency. Now that’s a truly far-out belief. Putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t make it a chorus girl.
LKBIQ:
The real question of government versus private enterprise is argued on too philosophical and abstract a basis. Theoretically, planning may be good. But nobody has ever figured out the cause of government stupidity and until they do (and find the cure) all ideal plans will fall into quicksand.
Richard Feynman
TILT:
Bonobos have been observed to engage in cannibalism in captivity.
driving 120 miles per hour
on their way to see Pope.
Please don’t make me laugh. Our Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, has announced that if progress can’t be made in Afghanistan by the end of the year, the American public will stop supporting the “war” there. Progress? In Afghanistan? In a year? If that isn’t the silliest thing I’ve heard in a long time I guess I wouldn’t recognize silly when I see it. Hey, Gates, how about 100 years, maybe more? Now he plans to send another 22,000 troops there. I wonder when we’ll reach the number we had in Vietnam? I wonder where he plans to get these troops? Anyway, this whole Afghanistan business is laughable, or would be if we weren’t losing so many of our young people there, completely wasting their time. There has never been any doubt in my mind from the very beginning of Obama’s vow to send more troops to Afghanistan that it would turn out to be his Vietnam, and it is. Doesn’t it make you wonder how such presumably intelligent people can be so wrong for so long? Maybe not, after the Vietnam debacle.
Another development that would be laughable if it were not so tragic is the fact that a small number of Democratic Congresspersons are threatening to deny health insurance to some 50 million people, men, women, and children. Think of that. Fifty million people are a lot, or at least they used to be before we discovered the magic words billion and trillion. Anyway, can you believe these people who would deny health care to so many millions just because they are being paid money to do so by those who have a vested interest in keeping the system as dysfunctional as it is. Now that’s what I call real public service.
And can you believe that another Republican in Congress actually said publicly that if they could defeat Obama on health care it would be his waterloo and he would be finished? I guess he, too, is vitally interested in doing his best for the public well-being. This would have to be seen as so stupid as to be laughable, but again it is serious politics for these greedy, short-sighted, selfish, nincompoops who call themselves Republicans. Michael Steele, Republican party chairman, helped out by accusing Obama of a “dangerous experiment” with our lives, on, of course, his road to socialism. When questioned about details of the proposed legislation Steele had to admit he didn’t really know anything about it. Is that not laughable? Of course it is also pathetic. I’m absolutely convinced these Republicans must be totally unaware of their stupidity. I have always believed that George W. Bush was marginally retarded, now I believe this is true of Republicans in general. They certainly did nothing during the Sotomayor hearings to disabuse me of this belief, and their behavior with respect to health care is just more reinforcement.
The MSM continues on in its own laughable interpretation of what is news. David Schuster, when talking about health care and other important topics had to insert a segment on Paula whats-her-face, who has something-or-other to do with American Idol. I think it had to do with how much money she was holding out for in her new contract. Now that is real news, right up there with health care, the economy, the “wars,” I guess the daily segment on Michael Jackson wasn’t available at the time, or perhaps there wasn’t a car chase going on somewhere in Podunk.
Finally, for the moment, what could be more laughable than the “birthers.” These “true believers” are convinced that Obama was not born in the U.S. and therefore is not our legitimate President. Even though Obama’s birth certificate has been made available, and even though its legitimacy has been verified by the state of Hawaii, and even though there is no credible evidence to the contrary, these conspiracy freaks still refuse to believe it. This would be completely laughable except for the fact that no less than Lou Dobbs himself has lent some credence to it, and there are said to be at least ten Congresspersons who are also moving in that direction. I suspect the phrase “get a life” was created for just such people. Not to worry, there is probably no belief on earth so far-fetched that someone won’t believe it. Some people even believe that Sarah Palin is a serious candidate for the Presidency. Now that’s a truly far-out belief. Putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t make it a chorus girl.
LKBIQ:
The real question of government versus private enterprise is argued on too philosophical and abstract a basis. Theoretically, planning may be good. But nobody has ever figured out the cause of government stupidity and until they do (and find the cure) all ideal plans will fall into quicksand.
Richard Feynman
TILT:
Bonobos have been observed to engage in cannibalism in captivity.
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