CHINA CRISIS - Arizona Sky (live - Munich - 1987 )

Potpourri

Genteel readers,

I. My PC is in the hospice thus no recent posts. How have you been? Here's what's on my mind:

- What are we going to do about Afghanistan?
- How much will be the final bid on the motorized La-Z-Boy seized from the intoxicated driver?



















II. I owe my mentors phone calls. The revered author Maj. Gene Duncan and I have a friend in common, which was revealed quite unexpectedly. It's important to respond when serendipity comes your way.

- I am grateful for my friend Scott, a voice of wisdom in my life transition. "Required for this afternoon/evening: Cagey is a highly skilled, successful, and largely mysterious professional who has worked in very spooky arenas for the past decade. Now you need to let the lion out of the cage some and let him prowl around like he owns his future fully. Seriously, as dumb as it sounds you will find yourself being much more optimistic and much happier if you start actually acting this out regularly."

He recommended: 1) Rocky Patel Cigar (Vintage 1990 or 1992) (2) Stylish sunglasses (3) Leather jacket (time to have a "smoking jacket"). It is time to re-brand. Once all parts are assembled, I'm to start road touring and introducing the car and jacket to the aromatic cigar, and me to a better attitude than of late.

Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver, the other gold.

III. Golf:

- My golf game needs help on every part of the swing beyond 90 degrees off the ground.

IV. Quotes of the week. It can take an external view to see our foibles. Jeremy Clarkson:

"So far we’ve looked at the problem in America of power without responsibility. Step out of the loop, do something unusual and you’ll encounter a wall of low-paid, low-intellect workers whose sole job is to prevent their bosses from being sued. As a result, you never hear anyone say: 'Oh I’m sure it’ll be all right.'"

"Then you’ve got New Orleans, which, nearly a year after Katrina, is still utterly smashed and ruined. Now I’m sorry but insects can build shelter on their own. Birds can build nests without a state handout. So why are the people of Louisiana sitting around waiting for someone else to do the repairs? I tried to help out. I tried to give a car I’d been using to a Christian mission. But I was threatened with legal action because the car in question was a 91 and not the 98 that had allegedly been promised. A very angry woman accused me of “misrepresentation”."

"Among the things I don’t like is the way everyone over 15 stone now moves about in a wheelchair. As a result, it takes half an hour to get through even the widest door."

Michael Savage: is a master storyteller.

Michael Savage can't get a new pair of sunglasses after his fell overboard from his boat; he was worried he'd lose his hat, or some other item, and "splash." Fast-forward. LensCrafters won't sell him a pair without an eye review - his last "expired." I understand the frustration. Let's remember what Mr. Clarkson said: " Step out of the loop, do something unusual and you’ll encounter..."

Savage: "You're not stupid, you're a grown man, you just get the prescription filled. In Mexico - they don't need a genius to stick a needle up their behind to tell them what they need. 'Si, senor,' and that's it."

V. I realize I often like things that I never thought I would.

- Mushrooms: I am allergic to mold and I used to think 'shrooms were unholy parasites, like Metroids. Now I realize how fantastic they are on pizza and in pot roasts. Rich and nutty, they impart the flavor of the earth into your food. If you want to feel closer to the earth and savoir faire in the kitchen, I can't imagine a happier complement to these foods.

- Ballcaps: I was a head covering snob for a long time. Ballcaps: They look dumb with uniforms, and they're not very sophisticated. Why can't people wear fedoras or other kinds of hats more commonly? Like flannels and cell phones, I resisted them for so long, but find them convenient for messy hair, and hiding my eyes, which makes me feel - impenetrable I guess

VI. Heaven on Earth

That would be Yamazaki 18 year old whiskey. Rated an impeccable 97 points by the Beverage Testing Institute, and awarded their platinum award in 2006, Yamazaki 18 is sublime. "Superlative." Tasting notes: "Amazingly complex and deep. Color: Copper Gold. Aroma: Estery, Honey, Strawberry. Body: Full bodied. Taste: Spicy, cherry-like tones, marmalade, butter cream, honey. Finish: Long, fruity, pleasantly dry.

























VI. Film recommendation: Paris, Je T'aime

Effective mise en scene. Easily found in the foreign films section at Blockbuster (gasp), I found this collection of vignettes from different directors and bouroughs compelling and beautiful. Not going to write a full-blown review tonight, but it was nice to return to the city of love. Liked the Oscar Wilde story best. Love stories when the setting is so thematically important, more than just a backdrop but something strived for, a cinematic or literary extension of soul that imparts sense of place, that has the capability to transport the viewer/reader elsewhere. The actors stirring in the city come alive on the canvas. Memphis - "Mystery Train." Barcelona -"Barcelona" (obviously) - some of my favorite examples. Interestingly enough, did see one review comparing the film to Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes (who incidentally, produced "Mystery Train").

Sample review: http://www.bloggernews.net/111507
(I'm looking for a deep critical analysis, if anyone has seen, please post to comments)

Kanye West meme still fresh in recent memory

Have I covered this already?


You've already suffered enough from a "me first, me victim" upbringing and thought you received enough notoriety saying that "George Bush hates black people," but that wasn't enough. So all 225 lbs. of you leaps on stage at a nationally televised awards show, and rips the microphone away from a waifish teenaged lady receiving her first award. You do the unthinkable, swaggering around and then saying, "I'mma let you finish," but your friend Beyonce, "had the best video of all time." Lo and behold, the president himself later called you "a jackass." What do you do next?


1. You become an internet meme. http://www.zmemusic.com/other/kanyes-imma-let-you-finish-meme-425975/


2. You don't show up for the BET music awards, where of course despite your lunacy, you were still nominated for nine awards. http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/11/kanye-west-bet-awards/

3. Where are you, anyway?

Presenting the most annoying trends of the 1990s

I woke up this morning remembering how much I disliked several 1990s trends in which:

- People on t.v. (Jay Leno - top offender) were CLEANING OUT THEIR EARS with their pinky fingers! Some sort of nervous tic? I promise you I'm not making this up - I became very keenly attuned to this awful trend and alarms in my head came alive upon seeing it, screaming in outrage and fury.

It would require countless hours of research, but I promise you I remember seeing Leno do it, and I think Letterman and others followed suit. Disgusting! "Thingamajigs scratch where Thingamajigs itch."  (Source: The Thingumajig Book of Manners by Irene Keller) [LINK]

- Runner-up: People sitting in their chairs backwards.  Eschew good graces!  Cast them away!  You're too cool, you're making a STATEMENT with your command pose! 

- Honorable mention: People doing that thing where they'd flex their suspenders, especially on NBC, and Urkel from Family Matters. You people are all terrible, terrible human beings!

Follow up: Supreme Court on Mojave memorial cross

My interest in religious symbols comes from research on Judge Roy Moore's display of the Decalogue in his courts, which in the western canon, is one of the great foundations of our law and ethics. It is absurd the extent to which we have restricted the display of symbols of good in our Christian-founded nation and through the clamor of "white noise," have self-acclimatized to viewing with suspicion Christianity ("evangelicals") and community service (government taking stance on "Faith-based initiatives"). There was no "separation of church and state" intended in the Constitution which would prohibit religious symbols nor expression, nor acknowledging our roots in Christianity and its values, yet this lie propagates resoundingly in these frightening modern times.

By JESS BRAVIN
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court seemed inclined Wednesday to permit a five-foot-tall cross to remain standing in California's Mojave National Preserve, while avoiding a broader ruling that could affect religious symbols on government property.
In Supreme Court arguments Wednesday, the justices looked closely at the terms of the 2004 act transferring the property. The court's decision could turn on whether the justices conclude the act requires the VFW specifically to maintain the cross.
[Solicitor General] Ms. Kagan said Congress's "sensible action" ended the government's entanglement with the Christian symbol, while preserving "a memorial that for 75 years had commemorated America's fallen soldiers and had acquired deep meaning for the veterans in the community."
Justice Antonin Scalia disputed the premise behind the lawsuit, telling Mr. Eliasberg that it was unfair to view the cross merely as a Christian symbol.
"The cross is the most common symbol of the resting place of the dead," he said. "What would you have them erect? Some conglomerate of a cross, a Star of David, and you know, a Muslim half moon and star?"
"I don't think you can leap from that to the conclusion that the only war dead that that cross honors are the Christian war dead," Justice Scalia said. "I think that's an outrageous conclusion."
However, the court seemed inclined to stay away from ruling whether it was acceptable for the government to put crosses on property it owns outright, a question that was never directly at issue in this case.
A decision is expected by July.

Supreme Court to hear Mojave cross case tomorrow

Pray.

Press release:

Richard Thompson, the President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, comments, “The ACLU hates crosses as much as vampires hate crosses or the daylight. Despite their claims to the contrary, this case is part of the ACLU’s national agenda to incrementally remove every cross on public land. Their guiding principle is ‘out of sight out of mind.’ The Court’s ruling in this case will impact crosses in thousands of memorials nationwide.”

http://www.thomasmore.org/.

Article: "A fine whine" by Michael Idov

As you may suspect, it is no easy task to own a business.

Excerpt:

"The failure of a small cafe is not a question of competence. It is a sad given. The logistics of a food establishment that seats between 20 and 25 people (which roughly corresponds to the definition of 'cozy') are such that the place will stay afloat—barely—as long as its owners spend all of their time on the job. There is a golden rule, long cherished by restaurateurs, for determining whether a business is viable. Rent should take up no more than 25 percent of your revenue, another 25 percent should go toward payroll, and 35 percent should go toward the product. The remaining 15 percent is what you take home. There's an even more elegant version of that rule: Make your rent in four days to be profitable, a week to break even. If you haven't hit the latter mark in a month, close."
"A place that seats 25 will have to employ at least two people for every shift: someone to work the front and someone for the kitchen (assuming you find a guy who will both uncomplainingly wash dishes and reliably whip up pretty crepes; if you've found that guy, you're already in better shape than most NYC restaurateurs. You're also, most likely, already in trouble with immigration services). Budgeting $15 for the payroll for every hour your charming cafe is open (let's say 10 hours a day) relieves you of $4,500 a month. That gives you another $4,500 a month for rent and $6,300 to stock up on product. It also means that to come up with the total needed $18K of revenue per month, you will need to sell that product at an average of a 300 percent markup."

Peter Drucker: "Managing Oneself"

Where do I belong? What should I contribute?

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BxFZRTU9Is17NjRlYjQ4MmYtZDkwNC00NzYzLWExODctYTkwODhjOTYxMDA1&hl=en

Call them doctors, not "providers"

It can't be just me that thinks this, but I'm surprised that there hasn't been an uprising from an all too nonchalant citizenry, and from doctors themselves, over the term "provider."
I once read an article by a doctor with maybe the semblance of heartburn over this issue, gone, buried, as we accept another doublespeak, neutered term into the lexicon. The creep of lazy language - why does it take root, and why no resistance?

Doctors go to school for years and years to earn their credentials and a title to boot. Somewhere I have a USA Today poll clipped that listed America's top five professions: doctor, firefighter, teacher, clergy, military officer. (Note: lawyer didn't make the cut.) My father grew up in the medical "old school," a harsher time unknown to you and me. He made housecalls, travelled by foot, performed emergency and routine surgeries, was the doctor to five railroads, and served as a medical officer to the Coast Guard.

So today, we have large-scale health organizations that train every schlub or policy wonk answering phones to lump everyone as a "provider." Nameless, faceless, provider.

Doctors are entitled to better and should insist on being called "Doctor."

Quote of the day: Too many lawyers

Too many lawyers, too much legislation. Example: A homeowner's deed used to be five pages, now it's exploded to over 60 pages of legal wharrrgarbl, thanks to the legal profession. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Scalia responds to a question about the “quality of counsel” who appear before the court:

"Well, you know, two chiefs ago, Chief Justice Burger, used to complain about the low quality of counsel. I used to have just the opposite reaction. I used to be disappointed that so many of the best minds in the country were being devoted to this enterprise."
"I mean there’d be a, you know, a defense or public defender from Podunk, you know, and this woman is really brilliant, you know. Why isn’t she out inventing the automobile or, you know, doing something productive for this society?"
"I mean lawyers, after all, don’t produce anything. They enable other people to produce and to go on with their lives efficiently and in an atmosphere of freedom. That’s important, but it doesn’t put food on the table and there have to be other people who are doing that. But, no, by and large I don’t have any complaint about the quality of counsel, except maybe we’re wasting some of our best minds."

I don't know about that "best" minds part.

Brings to mind another quote: "...Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."