Sunday, August 31, 2008

Sympathy for Elizabeth Edwards

I generally do not post about politics here, but this was just too bloody disgusting. Sure, the cliches are true -- "Truth will out" and "The truth will set you free" -- but no one is entitled, for any reason whatsoever, to the "truth" about someone's cheating spouse. Elizabeth Edwards, regardless of her incurable cancer, deserves the respect of her privacy. It's her marriage, and it's her children to protect.

I do understand her position, because I've been in her shoes, and I held the truth close to the vest until I was ready to deal with the repercussions of telling other people. Yes, I kept quiet, even with close friends and family.

I hope that the Brad Crone mentioned in the CNN article never has to deal with a cheating spouse.

I admire the grace Elizabeth Edwards has shown in dealing with this very public outing of a very private pain and betrayal, and I wish her the very best going forward in dealing with her husband, who I consider the biggest buried turd in the litter box of American politics.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A belated birthday present

Lisa ordered this t-shirt for me well before my birthday, but it didn't get here until today:

Monday, August 25, 2008

Olympics Redux

Yesterday, I commented on the relationship I see between the Olympic games and politics. This commentary was composed while watching the IOC president's speech during the US network broadcast of the Beijing closing ceremonies, and after further reflection, what I said really says more about how politics seizes on the Olympics than the other way around.

I admire the athletes, deeply, and marvel at what they can do. They are the epitome of talent honed by hard work and dedication. Only the barest portion of them can take home medals, but every national team member at the games is one the absolute best at what they do, in the world.

As far as I know, every nation takes fierce pride in their competitors. There are some few Olympians, such as Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, that capture the attention of the world at large. They are, unfortunately, the exceptions.

The Olympics, like Christmas, are unifying in the abstract, and for the short term. Only the true believer holds on to the positive effect of either for longer than a few weeks. There is less division in this than I gave credence to in my off the cuff post last night, but there is far less unity than the media or the denizens of the Olympic movement would have us believe.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Thoughts on the Summer Olympics

Lisa and I are watching the closing ceremonies. Color me impressed. I am far less impressed by NBC's coverage. On the evening news tonight, there was a story on America's "unsung heroes" of these games, those who won gold medals in other sports.

ABC was the network that broadcast the Olympics when I was younger, and they showed us far more sports than NBC does. They spent less time personalizing the athletes and more time showing us just why they represented their countries in competition. Because of that, ABC wouldn't have had to have a special report on their newscast before the closing ceremonies.

Lisa was terribly bored in the hour before the closing ceremonies started. NBC showed highlights from the gold medal round of men's indoor volleyball, between Brazil and the USA. I played just enough volleyball when I was in college to have a real appreciation for the sport. The Brazilians showed flashes of brilliance, as befits a team that had won a couple of world championships, but it was the Americans' turn to pull out the victory. Surprisingly, the announcers were not jingoistic; they respected the flow of the game and the spectacular skills of both teams.

The Olympics are hailed as a unifying force, as something that is above politics. I'm not sure that this is really how most of the world sees them. For a couple of weeks every four years, people do stop and pay attention to the games, but they do not live them the way many people do professional sports. Of course Olympic athletes, coaches, and organizers live them, but as far as I can tell, the Olympics divide people as much as pull them together. As for the games being above politics, did you know that the "tradition" of the Olympic flame, as well as the huge opening and closing ceremonies, originated with the 1936 Olympics? The ones held in Berlin? When Adolph Hitler was the leader of the German state? Remember 1972, when the Black September terrorists murdered 11 Israeli athletes? Remember 1980, when the US boycotted the Moscow Olympics over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan? Remember 1984, when the Soviets retaliated by boycotting the Los Angeles games?

I'd love to see the Olympic games be both unifying and apolitical. This is too simplistic to ever work, I know, but I think it would be a fantastic thing if the Olympics were permanently held in Greece, and if only amateurs could compete in the games. This might reduce the influence of politics in the games. If nothing else, the debate would be interesting.

Sometimes I'm evil, evil I tell you

We live in an apartment, and like many an apartment complex, there are lots of young kids here. Now, there are a couple of provisions in the standard lease here that sometimes seem to get overlooked. First, we're supposed to keep the noise down. Second, no one is supposed to play out in the parking lots.

One of our neighbors has a couple of kids, and they spend a great deal of time out in the parking lot. The little boy in the family is probably four or five, and he screams a great deal. Since the weather has been nice and comfortable for the last week, we've had the windows open and fans running, rather than the AC going. Consequently, we have heard the neighbor's son quite a bit.

He screamed much louder than usual about ten minutes ago. I walked out to the parking lot and asked the mom, "Is anyone hurt?" She shook her head no, with a rather surprised look on her face. I said, "I heard the screaming, and I was concerned." Then, I simply walked back inside.

I haven't heard any screams from the parking lot since.

The Phantom Tollbooth


This is a book that I've wanted to read for several years, ever since a fellow I quite liked on alt.books.dean-koontz talked it up. However, I couldn't find it in the local bookstores and just never thought to order it online. Happily, I found it last weekend. At Wal-Mart, of all places.

This book is compared very favorably to Alice In Wonderland, and I think this is an apt comparison. Both books have have story lines full of absurdities and are filled with puns and wordplay. They are both also very much of their times. Alice reflects Victorian England, and Tollbooth is an artifact of 1960s America. It's been too long since I read Alice to comment on it in any detail, but I can say that Tollbooth made me smile, made me laugh, and made me think.

This book is as much a reflection on the importance of knowledge and its acquisition as it is a delight to read. It speaks to a need for looking at the world with fresh wonder and not getting bogged down in the inconsequential, of Wisdom requiring Rhyme and Reason.

This quote sums up what this gem of a book means to me: And remember, also, that many places you would like to see are just off the map and many things you want to know are just out of sight or a little beyond your reach. But someday you'll reach them all, for what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.

It's real!

I weigh 249 pounds this morning. I've now lost 30 pounds since the beginning of June, and it feels, well, liberating. My left knee, the one I dislocated in 2003, doesn't ache all the time now. I can bend over and tie my shoes without feeling out of breath. I can bend over.

I want to publicly acknowledge that this would not have happened without my wife Lisa. She started on SparkPeople a week or two before I did, and I joined her more to keep from sabotaging her than to benefit myself. I know how bad for me restaurant burgers, pizza, and other fatty and salt-laden foods are, but I love the flavors and the emotional "comfort" of these foods. You know, a sop to "poor poor pitiful me" through two separations and divorces, job changes, overwhelming debt, and loneliness. I'm following her lead, and while I sometimes want the things I used to eat (and even eat them occasionally), I'm finding now that it's becoming easy to choose the better things. Of course, Lisa has filled the voids that "poor poor pitiful" Eddie was teetering on the edge of, and that makes it even easier to make good choices.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

A great birthday present


I posted a review of Little Brother a couple of months ago, after I read the free ebook version. I ended the post by recommending people go out and buy a copy of the book for themselves, as well as one to give to a teen important to them. I've sort of done part of this, as I passed the ebook on to my daughter to read. When I turned 48 earlier this month, I asked my wife for a hardcover copy of the book, which I just finished reading this evening, enjoyed just as much the second time around, and still fervently believe should win all the SF awards available next year.

Yes, I had Lisa put her money where my mouth is.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

A college career begins

Andy moved into his...well, it's not a dorm...apartment at Purdue today. His mom called me about an hour ago to let me know that he's there and settled. Barely.

See, he's got a George Foreman grill, a bunch of junk food -- I'm sure he'll manage to survive on Pop Tarts and Cheerwine for a few days -- a bath mat, no plates or silverware or coffee maker, his internet access turned on and his laptop, and no roommates until the middle of the week. He told everyone who tried to help him out with the things that you need to establish a household, even a temporary one like your first college room, no thanks, that his roommates are bringing everything. Andy's never been on his own before, so he's in for interesting times.

He has mandatory events for freshman orientation, and I believe his mom told me that he is being fed for free all week. He's not happy about having to wear an armband that identifies him as a freshman, but I hope he realizes that everyone is going to know he's a newbie. He might as well accept the help that comes with the official recognition. After all, once classes start, it's going to be sink or swim.

Good luck, son. I expect great things of you.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

250?!

I weighed on two scales this morning, and they both agreed. I now weigh 250 lbs! It's been a week-and-a-half, roughly, since I last weighed myself, and I weighed 261 then. I certainly haven't stretched myself exercising in the last week, and I went to a party last weekend where there was exactly nothing I could consider really healthy to eat, but I still dug in like there was no tomorrow!

I don't understand how I could have lost 11 pounds in 10 days, but I also don't believe the scales are lying to me. So, to celebrate, Lisa and I went to the NC Zoo today and spent a good 90 minutes just walking, faster than usual, uphill and down. I do believe I'm proud of us.

Ponder this

If you can do lunch, can lunch be done to you?

Friday, August 8, 2008

And now a word from Winston Churchill



My wife calls me "Lemonade Man", from the saying "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." I am, and have always been, basically an optimist. I am now entering a new stage on the SparkDiet, which is LifeStyle Change.

Winston Churchill is one of history's genuinely great men and master motivators, and I'm using one of his quotes as a motivational touchstone, as a reminder to myself of who I am at heart. I believe this is going to work, for weight loss, for better health, and for improving my life.

I now weigh 261 pounds. The journey continues.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

I didn't expect this

My Jeopardy appearance, ten months after the taping and seven months after the broadcast, still comes up in conversation from time-to-time. Most recently, a co-worker told me that she talked about it with someone she visits at Hospice, who seemed to attend to the conversation a bit more than usual. Is it possible that something I did largely as a lark was of some comfort to someone who's dying?

Saturday, August 2, 2008

My favorite Babbles from the first year

I meant to do this yesterday, but real life intruded. These are my favorite Babble On entries from the first year of the blog: 3) the funniest, especially since it's at my own expense - What not to say at dinner, 2) the best family entry - Blues, and 1) the best written (this one is also the saddest) - Requiem for a Jack Russell Terrier.

David turns 15 today

Unlike this day last year when he and Andy were here, David is at home in Indiana today. I know that his mom's partner Ellen is taking him and one of his friends to the Guitar Center, and I know that David takes a lot of pleasure in trying out various guitars and amps there, even though he's not impressed with either the salespeople or the care they take with the stock guitars. I'll call him later today so Lisa and I can wish him the happiest of birthdays, and I'll ask him to play a little bit for us on his Fender Telecaster, whose purchase we contributed to back in the spring.

I think after that I may go purchase Stargate Continuum. It will be good to see Richard Dean Anderson in the role of Jack O'Neill again.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Babble On now a toddler

And to celebrate, we're giv...no, no prizes. Let's see...I'm publishing my tell-all...no, I'm neither that feckless nor salacious. Maybe...wisdom of the ages...the world probably isn't ready.

Ah, screw it. Here's to me for keeping this up for a year. I've enjoyed it, and I hope that anyone else who's read it has as well.