Nobody 843

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Nobody # 843

Nobody Asked Me But:

By some strange coincidence, this week’s athlete of the week is another of my granddaughters, Lily. Here she is on the soccer field and enjoying a well-earned, post-game treat.<<<

Just wondering - If 76% of the people in a CNN poll said they were not shopping on Black Friday, then where did all the people in the stores and on the streets come from?<<<

I didn’t know that – Paul Simon only added the third verse to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” because of pressure from the producer of the album. He has never truly felt it belonged.<<<

My sports turkey of the year: Yankee management – if they let Jeter and Rivera get away.<<<

Sign seen – “I didn’t start trouble, it was here when I arrived.”<<<

Which song reminds me of slow dancing when I was young? That’s easy – “Stars fell On Alabama.” And don’t worry. I am not going to sing it for you.<<<

We had Thanksgiving dinner at The Smokehouse across from Warner Brothers, and I didn’t know that the building, which the restaurant has occupied since 1949, was built by Danny Kaye.<<<

David Nolan, 66, died in Tucson Thursday. He was the founder of the Libertarian Party – of all things, because of Nixon’s imposition of wage and price controls in 1971. In 2006 he told the Tucson Daily Citizen that - "The government's job is to protect you; beyond that, it's up to you."

I can live with that as long as “protect” includes protecting me from ignorance, from being impoverished by medical expenses and from free market corruption.<<<

Here are Time magazine’s nominees for “Person of the Year:”

• Julian Assange

• Glenn Beck

• David Cameron

• The Chilean Miners

• Arne Duncan

• Recep Tayyip Erdogan

• Jonathan Franzen

• Lady Gaga

• Robert Gates

• Tony Hayward

• Hu Jintao

• LeBron James

• Steve Jobs

• Hamid Karzai

• David and Charles Koch

• Liu Xiaobo

• Barack Obama

• Sarah Palin

• Nancy Pelosi

• Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf

• Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert

• The Unemployed American

• J. Craig Venter

• Elizabeth Warren, Mary Schapiro and Sheila Bair

• Mark Zuckerberg

There are some good candidates and some weird ones like LeBron James and Glen Beck, but in my opinion, there is a clear-cut winner here - The Unemployed American.<<<

Adding to my list of greatest film put-down reviews is this one from the Washington Post in 2000 for Battlefield Earth: “A million monkeys with a million crayons would be hard-pressed in a million years to create anything as cretinous as Battlefield Earth.”<<<

Computers are not always correct. One at Cambridge University determined that April 11, 1954 was the most boring day in human history – because nothing important happened that day.

Not true. As I recall, that was the day that I failed my life-saving exam at the University of Arizona and changed my major from physical ed to history.<<<

After the way Sarah Palin referred last week to North Korea as our ally, is it so far fetched to see her choose Kim Jung On as her running mate in 2012?

And isn’t Sarah’s the mouth that just keeps on giving - hope and confidence to the Democrats?<<<

I know Payton Manning is a great quarterback, but I will take Tom Brady any day.<<<

DREAMS

According to a recent scientific study, eating delicious foods like ice cream is the fifth most common dream. The sixth is having a love affair with a celebrity. I have never dreamed either one.

I guess that makes me unique – or out of it.<<<

PHILOSOPHY CORNER

The philosophy of utilitarianism (greatest good for the greatest number) believes that every experience can be quantified and by so doing, the greatest good can be determined. (The most common example is safety versus lives.) Edward Thorndyke tried the following experiment in the 1930s in an attempt to prove that quantification is possible. He asked people on relief (welfare) the following question. How much money would you ask to do each of these?

To have one upper front tooth extracted

To have one little toe amputated

To eat a worm

To strangle a stray cat

To live the rest of your life on an isolated Kansas farm

This is how they ranked them from least money to most:

Tooth

Cat

Toe

Worm

Kansas. (Wouldn’t Dorothy and Toto be shocked with this one?)

When I read this I was appalled. Of these five unpleasant things, by far the hardest for me would be to strangle the cat. How about you?

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Nobody # 842 – Thanksgiving

Nobody Asked Me But:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW SON!

This is not a day for negatives, so I will get these out of the way first. I am most definitely not thankful for bookstore closings – 3 in the past month (Borders in Thousand Oaks and Westwood, Barnes and Noble in Encino). Boo! Hiss!

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

A mocha malt, Pike’s black and “my” window table at Starbuck’s

PAPPARDELLE WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

East Coast sunrises and West Coast sunsets.

Memories of Coach Wooden

Back yard, books, and an umbrella on sunny days

Plumaria in bloom

My wife’s coffee cakes

Midway briefs

Two-buck Chuck

Three-day trips

Kevin and Russell and Aaron and Darren

Lists – 10 best and, especially, 10 worst

“Hannah And Her sisters” and Abbot and Costello meet “Young Frankenstein”

The Sporting News Daily

David Brooks

Apple and Google

Maine

Pop tarts from the Gelato Bar on Tujunga

Two hours of solitude every morning

Having Barbara around for the other 22

A full moon shining on my desk

A black President and a female Speaker of the House

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Masterpiece Mysteries

I AM THANKFUL THAT: I am loved by wonderful people

I AM MOST THANKFUL THAT: I CAN LOVE THOSE WONDERFUL PEOPLE

(I am also thankful that I can laugh at the below)

Q: Is it true that menopause is mentioned in the bible?

A: Yes, in Matthew 14:92: “And Mary road Joseph’s ass all the way to Egypt.”

And

An elderly man was stopped by the police around 3 a.m. and was asked where he is going at this time of night.
 



The man replied, “I am going to a lecture about alcohol abuse and the effects it has on the human body.”

The officer then asked, "Really? Who is giving that lecture at this time of night?"

The man replied, "My wife."

And finally – The LA Times asks its readers: “What is your all-time Thanksgiving memory?

Mine is in Tacoma, Washington when I was 11 and 12 watching the city high school championship between Stadium High and Lincoln High from Stadium’s sunk-in football field overlooking Commencement Bay. (Picture above)

Nobody 841

Sunday, November 21, 2010
Nobody # 841

Nobody Asked Me But:

A few weeks ago, I voted for the legalization of marijuana. But by doing so, I did not endorse its widespread use, especially among the young and young adults. I believe in the studies that show that regular use of pot has a negative influence on incentive, ambition and performance.<<<

The growing revolution against increased security at airports, body scans and pat-downs, is so typical of modern Americans. We want something for nothing. Keep us safe, but don’t embarrass or inconvenience us.<<<

WONDERING AND WISHING

Why is it that men are the leaders of the anti-abortion crowd, when they rarely, if ever, have abortions?

I wish Obama were as good a president as he was a candidate. Don’t believe me? Name one speech he has given as President as good as the ones he gave as a candidate.

Sometimes I am tempted to wish for a (very) short stay in Hell to see if my grandmother was telling me the truth when she said “Hell is paved with good intentions.”

But then I remember that I will be there soon enough if the Republicans are able to put their plan for America into effect. And the answer will be NO.<<<

OVERHEARD MISSION STATEMENTS

“I am a Republican. I hate Medicare. And the Democrats damn well better not do anything to hurt it.”

“I am a Republican. I believe that the country cannot afford to extend both unemployment benefits and tax cuts for the rich. So down with the unemployed.<<<

HOW QUICKLY THEY FORGET

And did you read that Michael Vick is one of the leading candidates for the NFL Player of The Year? I somehow doubt that any dogs will vote for him.<<<

THE SLEEPWALKERS

I chanced upon this first novel by Paul Grossman on a recent trip to Borders. It looked interesting enough to buy. It is about a Jewish police detektiv. Its setting is Berlin, 1932-33. Unrest is everywhere in a city clinging to its leading edge life style and its decadence. The Nazis are on the march, but the “good” Germans think they are, at best, “commie” killers or, at worst, a nuisance to be dealt with tomorrow. Einstein and a few other Jews don’t agree. They think it is time to leave the country.

In this city of tension, people are sleepwalking into nowhere. Beautiful women, dwarfs, twins. Gone. It is up to Inspktor-Detektiv Willi Kraus to find the who and the where. The who is simple. When there is evil in early 30s Berlin, you can bet the Nazis are behind it. The where is a horror story that previews the monstrosity that was to become the Third Reich.

The Sleepwalker is fascinating, both for its story and for its historical glimpses of Berlin. Its conclusion satisfies history and the story. Although The Sleepwalker has a few of the flaws common to a first novel, I highly recommend it. But a word of caution to Grossman – never, NEVER write out the sound of a gun firing. Bang, bang is verboten.<<<

History’s “little” mistakes – I know history shows that during Hitler’s early aggression towards Austria, he ordered his generals to turn around and come home if they encountered any opposition, which means that a simple act of will by England or France could have stopped Hitler before he started. But I did not realize how easily Hitler’s enemies within Germany could have crushed the Nazis before they took power. Instead they either tried to use him against the communists, thinking that they would crush him later, or they blinded themselves to the menace, believing (or hoping) it would go away without decisive action.<<<

A TALE OF TWO “HEROES”

Jesse James got his start as a Rebel guerrilla looting a Union train and killing 22 unarmed soldiers, scalping several.

Billy the Kid’s first arrest was for stealing a basket of laundry.<<<

The LA Times has an occasional series in which it asks authors about their memorable reading experiences, good or bad, in their pre-college school days. Last week Karen Joy Fowler (an award winning science-fiction writer) chose “The Hobbit,” read to the class by her sixth grade teacher at Addison Elementary in Palo Alto, CA, and quickly reread by her. I loved her answer to the question, “What did you learn from it?”

“I learned how to comport myself among trolls, elves, hobbits or goblins. I learned that a friend can be lost to greed and avarice. I learned that solving riddles may be as important a survival skill as bowmanship. I know how to talk to a dragon and that it is best not to.”

TRANSLATION PLEASE Can any of you make sense out of this? “We may have broken rules, but we didn’t cheat.” Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun

Scholastic has a great new website called “You Are what You Read.” It is operated in a sort of Facebook style. On it famous people from all professions and occupations, as well as the non-famous, list the five books that have most influenced them. Imagine my surprise when, while doing an initial browse, I discovered that one of Kathy Bates five favorites was Robert Louis Stevenson’s collection of children’s poems, “A Child Garden of Verses.” This may or may not make my top five, but if not, it will be damned close. Although I read and reread these delights more years ago then I prefer to remember, I can still recite many.

http://youarewhatyouread.scholastic.com/adults/

And, while on the subject, as most of you know, my favorite novel of all time is “To Kill A Mockingbird.” What about number two, you ask? Actually, you didn’t ask, but I will tell you anyway. It is John Steinbeck’s “East Of Eden.”<<<

Make me King of baseball – and I would set the maximum length of any contract to 3 years. Then I would apply the NBA’s right of first refusal after a player’s first three-year contract with any team. This means that his team has the one-time right to match any offer he might receive. After a second three-year contract he becomes an unrestricted free agent.<<<

I’m with Chris Erskine of the LA Times when he writes that he looks forward to the day when a doctor says to a patient: "You have cancer. Let me write you a prescription."<<<

SOMETHING FOR NOTHING – CALIFORNIA STYLE

In a poll taken last week, Californians were anxious to close the state’s budget deficit. They rejected raising taxes to do it, opting instead for budget cuts. But then they rejected cutting from programs that make up 85% of the budget. They even wanted to increase spending on some of them.

Nobody 840

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Nobody # 840

Nobody Asked Me But:

Neither a leader nor a follower be/For leaders steal the self of others/And followers surrender their selves without a struggle. jt<<<

When it was mentioned on the news this past week that President Obama lived in Indonesia as a boy, Barbara was surprised – until I reminded her that according to the “birthers” Indonesia was one of the places that Obama was born.<<<

As I have written before, Jim Hitt and I have been friends for over 40 years. He is like a brother to me. So you can understand my happiness as Barbara and I attended his book signing yesterday at Mysteries To Die For in Thousand Oaks. “Carny,” his novel of connected short stories is an excellent read, and his success in long fiction is way overdue. I highly recommend it.<<< PHILOSOPHER’S CORNER

Buyer, B, agrees to purchase a car from seller, S, who knows that the auto looks good but has severe mechanical problems. Which rule should prevail?

1. Buyer beware?
2. Seller beware?

A libertarian would choose answer (1). Most states opt for (2). Which one would you choose?

Which leads us to - A LOOK AT LIBERTARIANISM

According to the philosophy of Libertarianism, the most fundamental of all rights is the individual’s right to liberty, which is almost absolute and is limited unjustly whenever government does the following:

1. Acts paternalistically (passing laws to protect people from themselves)
2. Legislates one standard of morality
3. Legislates the redistribution of wealth (this includes all taxation for the purpose of promoting the general welfare)

According to libertarians, the most egregious offense for the government is number 3, because “I own myself and my labor and to take the fruits of my labor from me is to make me a slave.”

A simple way to understand libertarians is to realize that their moral compass always points to ME. Although I sympathize with them on number 2 and, in come cases on number 1, I think they are totally off base on number 3. In America, as in any free country, the individual, by choosing to live here, makes an unspoken contract with society to give up certain individual rights and freedoms. In return, he or she receives the benefits provided by the group. If that which is given up seems greater than the benefits received, the individual can attempt to change the rules (laws) and failing that, is free to leave and seek out another society.

In other words, in America each resident has an opportunity/obligation contract. He or she has an opportunity to amass wealth and an obligation to give a portion of it back.<<<

Do you remember when the Clintons were renting out the Lincoln bedroom for $25,000 a night? Well back when Bill Gates had only $40B, he could have used it to sleep there for 66,000 years.<<<

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST

Like the first two films of the Millennium Trilogy, “Hornet’s Nest” follows the book as closely as any adaptation I can remember. The movie, like the book, unfolds slowly, but by the climatic trial scene it is stunning and completely satisfying. A few critics (it mostly received very good reviews) thought that Lisbeth being confined to a hospital bed for most of the film robbed the film of its best character and, therefore, of its soul. Not so, at least to me. Physically active or not, she remains the movie’s focal point and is, once more, a riveting character.

Haven’t read the books or seen the films yet? What are you waiting for?<<<

And while on the subject, Buffalo Bills wide receiver, Stevie Johnson, in a Sporting News profile, listed “The Girl Who Played with Fire” as a favorite comedy movie, which is just one more proof that helmet to helmet is harmful.<<<

A NEW LOOK AT GEORGE W

I watched Bush's appearance on the Oprah show yesterday and thought it fascinating. It firmed up my ambivalence towards our former president. As I have written, my respect for him grew significantly during his final two years in office and has gone up still more with his consistent refusal to criticize his successor. That shows class. I still vehemently disagree with most of the decisions of his first six years, and I blame much of that on his devotion to the Cheney Doctrine. In fact, I think the greatest of his mistakes was in choosing Cheney to be his running mate. Whereas, I believe Bush was a bad president but not a bad man, Cheney was and is a bad man.

But "Let the dead past bury its dead.” George W. seems like a decent human being today, and he, not I, has to live with American deaths in Iraq. He certainly is not the first president to send our young off to die in an unnecessary war.<<<

ADD ON: Bush Quote

“I probably won’t even vote for the guy (McCain)” I had to endorse him. But I would have endorsed Obama if they’d asked me.” (To a group of British dignitaries at a White House meeting in 2008 – according to two witnesses.)<<<

I don’t know about you, but I think it is time for Betty White to take a publicity break. She’s everywhere. I will not be surprised to see her on American Idol next season – as a contestant, not a judge.<<<

I have coined a new phrase - Dumber than Democrats - but as I watch their leaders in Congress (Pelosi excepted) I realize that I know only a few to whom I can apply the label.<<<

Mary was right! Mary was right! Studies show that sugar can take the edge off pain and therefore “help the medicine go down.”<<<

Last week the California State University Board of Trustees approved a 15% hike in undergraduate tuition, arguing that the action was an essential step to provide access to the Cal State system by more students. Which leads me to this.

Wanted: For murdering California’s envied system of higher education – Governor Ronald Reagan and his successors, Republican and Democratic, who sold out to the “no taxation, even with representation” crowd.<<<

From the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again which invites readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition - Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

BY THEIR FRIENDS YE SHALL KNOW THEM – The United States, this past week, joined 4 other countries in voting no on a U.N proposal to impose a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. The other countries were China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, The Sudan.<<<

Nobody 839

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Nobody # 839

Nobody Asked Me But:

Congratulations to our granddaughter, Emily, who is a freshman at Nogales High School and runs varsity cross-country. Yesterday, in Phoenix, her team won the state championship! YOU GO GIRL!<<<

LORD OF THE RING

While in Cambria, last week, we stopped by the jewelry store where we bought our wedding rings to have them cleaned. I waited in the car while Barbara went in. Removing the ring from my finger was very difficult. It was also a mistake, because, while she was inside, a group of three women tried to get into my car. I have no idea what their intentions were, but you can be sure they were not honorable. My theory is they saw that I was without a wedding ring and assumed I was available.

My wife quickly set them straight, as she rushed out of the store yelling "Wrong car!" (Or was it wrong man?) Anyway, the ladies quickly apologized, saying that my car looked exactly like theirs. Likely story.

Barbara says never again. From now on the ring gets cleaned on my finger.<<<

We had an excellent three-day mini-vacation at this fine small coastal town, although it started with a disappointment. Our first stop was to be at Doc Bernstein’s in Arroyo Grande for arguably California’s best ice cream. But we arrived to find it closed for three days for their annual floor cleaning. Alas, no marble-fudge for my wife nor bittersweet chocolate for me. Not all was lost however. The lady who was supervising promised to deep-freeze some so that Barbara’s plan to bring some home could be realized.

Sure enough. Wednesday we stopped, our coolers ready with dry ice, and loaded 6 half-gallons. They arrived home safe and firm, and the lady even threw in a dozen sugar cones, so Barbara can lick hers to her heart’s content.

We had our first cone (marble-fudge) Friday evening. Delicious!<<<

A tale of two restaurants: Barb and I each have a favorite Cambria restaurant. I prefer The Sow’s Ear with its legendary chicken fried steak, while she favors The Hamlet At Moonstone Garden for its fried shrimp and ocean view. Two nights = both of us being fully satisfied. My cf steak was as good as ever. But, to my surprise, our dinners at Moonstone Gardens were even better. We started by splitting a Caesar salad with Louie dressing and bay shrimp added. Each of our halves was larger than a regular dinner salad and excellent. Barbara’s fried shrimp was everything she hoped and more and my scampi was equally wonderful.<<<

For me, almost every trip has a “let go of it all”* moment when even expectations give way to the magic now. This time my moment was when we sat on a bench, the white-capped waves in front of us, a good book in hand.

(*From the poem “Let Go Of It All, and see where it takes you,” by James Kavanaugh.)

And lest I forget, the other magic moment for me was our visit to the Jockey underwear outlet store in Pismo Beach. Yes, at times I am easily thrilled.

Why I travel:

For magic moments

To escape the monotony of the same

To make new memories and revisit old ones<<<

WOULDA-SHOULDA-COULDA

Four players from the 2008 UCLA basketball team are playing in the NBA, all of them starting (Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Darren Collison and Luc Richard Mba a Moute). I cannot think of a good reason why we didn’t come home from San Antonio that year with a national championship.<<<

On sodium chloride – at the same time that we are being told that too much salt is bad, we are deluged with delicious (sea) salty concoctions such as sea salt Virginia redskin peanuts, sea salt caramels and caramel ice cream, sea salt cookies from Cayucos at Brown Butter Cookie Company that we, by chance, passed coming home from Cambria, after Barbara, also by chance, read about them a few days before in Daily Candy. (They were quite good – especially the mocha ones.)<<<

Here’s a quote from an LA Times entertainment writer - Ben Stiller has made a career of playing lovable losers. Here’s a reaction from jt – Losers, yes. Lovable, nooo.<<<

THE ELECTION 2010

This was much the same as the congressional election of 2006 and the presidential election of2008. Americans feel desperate. They don’t like the way they are being governed and, at every opportunity, they vote for change. In my opinion, it was not wise to re-empower the rascals who created our current economic problems, but voting is frequently an exercise in emotion rather than reason.<<<

All Republican voters should be required to affirm the following statement: I know that my party will always vote for the best interests of the wealthy class.<<<

No, I haven’t forgotten all the bad, and there was plenty of it, but in this he is a class act – “I don't think it's good for a former president to be out there opining on every darned issue. He's got a plenty tough job. Trust me. And there's gonna be plenty of critics and he doesn't need me criticizing him." -Former President George W. Bush

“I believe that the health care bill that was enacted by the current Congress will kill jobs in America, ruin the best health-care system in the world and bankrupt our country,” John Boehner. Is Boehner a liar or just an illiterate who spends too much time under a tanning lamp? There is not a rating system in the world that places our medical care anywhere within sight of number one – except perhaps one operated by our private, for-profit health insurance companies.<<<

FOX NEWS DOUBLETALK

Trace Gallagher, reporting on the Senate race in California, said: "The numbers appear to favor the incumbent, Barbara Boxer, the three-term senator, but the mood here in California, John, really seems to be going toward Carly Fiorina's way."<<<

PALIN-TOLOGY

Did you see Sarah Palin's new pat-on-the-back election video – the part where she says, "This is our morning in America," as an apparent orange sunrise is shown behind the Statue of Liberty? Well the picture behind her is a for sale stock photo called - drum roll please - "Time Lapse--Sunset behind Statue of Liberty."

It’s like this Sarah. Sunset is in the evening, not the morning. Or could she have meant that the Republican victory brings on evening in America?<<<

And SP lists this vile tweet from Ann Coulter on her favorite’s list: The tweet showed a picture of a sign outside “The Blood of Jesus ATLAH World Missionary Church” in New York. The sign read: “The blood of Jesus against Obama history made 4 Nov 2008 a Taliban Muslim illegally elected president USA: Hussein.”<<<

This from Mitch “I get a little confused sometime” McConnell: “Administration officials bailed out automakers that should have been allowed to reorganize or fail. And it shouldn't be lost on anybody, by the way, that the only one that refused a bailout, Ford, is the one that's doing best today."

Mitch baby – You voted yes on that bail-out.<<<

Ending with a smile - During World War II, Germany experimented with pulse jet tubes by attaching them to the bodies of pilots to fly them over minefields, but the project never got far off the ground.<<<

Picture note: The two sunset pictures were taken at Moonstone Gardens. The wooden walk leads from our hotel to the beach.