It's the Saturday ending the wildest economic roller coaster ride this country has experienced in my lifetime, culminating in what can only be called the nationalizing (read socializing) of three major financial institutions, and already members of Congress are passing about accusations and innuendo about politicking over rapid passage of the sweeping proposal presented them. As I read the aforelinked article, I could not help but be glad that someone is pausing to read and think before signing off ahead of the drying ink. Seriously, would you rubber stamp a proposal (and with such rapidity) that has emerged from the office of the one we have for too long called simply, G. W.? Is this proposal, in fact, the salvation of our American economy and way of life as we know it, or is it just another grab for power in an opportune moment such as has happened repeatedly in this land of exploitation at every opportunity? The term, "sweeping powers" sends shivers up and down my spine. I cannot but approve a closer scrutiny of conditions that will quite possibly protect those who sought to benefit at the expense of the majority, and who evidently still do...
And....
Does anyone besides those directly affected remember that we began the week facing the monumental task of picking up the pieces after the devastation of Hurricane Ike, that monster storm that has cut a wide swath across the nation, not just the impressive devastation through Texas? That was the promise of a whopping bill as well. What are those in D.C. thinking these days? Are they? Or are they experiencing more knee-jerk reactions such as those in evidence following the 9/11/01 attacks?
Cynical? Who me?
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Birthing Biases
Today's most disturbing news item amidst word of war and rumors of war in distant Georgia is that several families in Kansas are suing a Roman Catholic parochial school because of an English only policy recently instituted in response to playground behavior problems that resulted in an expulsion. The students and families involved are all evidently either U.S. citizens or legal immigrants. The problem seems to stem from the fact that at least one of the students was using another language on the playground to make disparaging remarks about fellow classmates, faculty, and staff, thus inciting negative attitudes and behavior in others. Though the lawsuit was filed in May, it's making the news today because the the civil suit is commencing.
When I first heard the teaser for this story, I thought there was another battle brewing about bilingual education. Unfortunately, this is not such a simple case, for this involves the attempt of a private school to control the behavior of its students. It's not a public school, so the students are there by choice, not perforce. The students involved are native English speakers, so it's not a matter of denying them academic access or hindering their learning. And let's face it: kids talking smack is an ever-present problem, regardless of where they congregate.
On the other hand, whether the school is allowed to make and uphold its own policy or not, the fact that the issue has been raised is a problem. Schools need to be able to enforce discipline and private schools have the right to try to inculcate their chosen value system on their students, but does anyone have the right to try to control talk and thoughts, especially during free time in open spaces? It's all very disturbing.
Then there's the news today that the Spanish Olympic basketball team posed for a photo for a courier company that is one of the team's sponsors. The problem is multifaceted: the ad involves all the team members using their fingers to make slant-eyes and has been running daily for well over a month back in Spain; almost no one on the team or associated with the team sees a problem with this; nothing seems to be happening in response to the recent concerns raised by international journalists, the issue being viewed by the Spaniards as a tempest in a teapot.
So the change we seek for unity in a globally diverse world is still evidently a bit of a ways down the road, it seems.
When I first heard the teaser for this story, I thought there was another battle brewing about bilingual education. Unfortunately, this is not such a simple case, for this involves the attempt of a private school to control the behavior of its students. It's not a public school, so the students are there by choice, not perforce. The students involved are native English speakers, so it's not a matter of denying them academic access or hindering their learning. And let's face it: kids talking smack is an ever-present problem, regardless of where they congregate.
On the other hand, whether the school is allowed to make and uphold its own policy or not, the fact that the issue has been raised is a problem. Schools need to be able to enforce discipline and private schools have the right to try to inculcate their chosen value system on their students, but does anyone have the right to try to control talk and thoughts, especially during free time in open spaces? It's all very disturbing.
Then there's the news today that the Spanish Olympic basketball team posed for a photo for a courier company that is one of the team's sponsors. The problem is multifaceted: the ad involves all the team members using their fingers to make slant-eyes and has been running daily for well over a month back in Spain; almost no one on the team or associated with the team sees a problem with this; nothing seems to be happening in response to the recent concerns raised by international journalists, the issue being viewed by the Spaniards as a tempest in a teapot.
So the change we seek for unity in a globally diverse world is still evidently a bit of a ways down the road, it seems.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Proof That Blonde Is a State of Mind
Cokie Roberts, the ABC journalist who feels comfortable taking a cheerleading name into professional journalism, is reported in this morning's newspapers as characterizing Hawaii as "foreign" and "exotic", even though she admits to being aware that it is, in fact, the 50th state. She questions the wisdom of Barack Obama's decision to take a weeklong breather in the town of his birth and youth after a grueling year on the campaign trail, even though part of his stated purpose is to visit his aging grandmother and sister, who both still reside here. Ms. Roberts suggests that a man in serious pursuit of the presidency of the United States would be better off vacationing in an east coast resort such as Myrtle Beach. Is this professional journalist by any chance aware of the provincialism evident in such a perspective?
I never cease to be amazed that those who style themselves as cosmopolitan or at least sophisticated can be so oblivious of the narrowness of their own perceptions as to what constitutes "the world" and that which matters in it. Is the east coast the only relevant geographic arena in our country? Is anything to which one cannot drive beyond the bounds of acceptable?
I do remember the fuss and furor when Ronald Reagan set up a "West Coast White House" because he was desirous of occasionally returning to his California ranch and horses to get away from the hubbub of D.C. Lyndon Johnson and the Bushes have periodically returned to their Texas homes for rest, recreation, and even occasional political liaisons.
Still, since Hawaii is strategically positioned in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and claims the title of "Crossroads of the Pacific," is it not at least as well-placed, if not more so, than Washington, D.C. as things heat up in Georgia and the world turns its attention to Georgia?
The world's still a big place, albeit shrinking in perception daily. If one travels far enough, one circles back. The days of easy access only by cart or car are long past. Legislators travel from all fifty states to congregate and serve in the capital, and no one has serious problems with either travel or communications. If a sitting representative does not occasionally make it back home, the electorate wonders whether or not s/he remembers the roots from which such a representative came. Everyone else vying for leadership in this country discounts Hawaii as too distant and too insignificant to bother visiting during an election. It's nice to know that a native son has managed to take time, at least once, to come home and remember the family and friends who have contributed so much to the shaping of who and what he now is and hopes someday to be.
I never cease to be amazed that those who style themselves as cosmopolitan or at least sophisticated can be so oblivious of the narrowness of their own perceptions as to what constitutes "the world" and that which matters in it. Is the east coast the only relevant geographic arena in our country? Is anything to which one cannot drive beyond the bounds of acceptable?
I do remember the fuss and furor when Ronald Reagan set up a "West Coast White House" because he was desirous of occasionally returning to his California ranch and horses to get away from the hubbub of D.C. Lyndon Johnson and the Bushes have periodically returned to their Texas homes for rest, recreation, and even occasional political liaisons.
Still, since Hawaii is strategically positioned in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and claims the title of "Crossroads of the Pacific," is it not at least as well-placed, if not more so, than Washington, D.C. as things heat up in Georgia and the world turns its attention to Georgia?
The world's still a big place, albeit shrinking in perception daily. If one travels far enough, one circles back. The days of easy access only by cart or car are long past. Legislators travel from all fifty states to congregate and serve in the capital, and no one has serious problems with either travel or communications. If a sitting representative does not occasionally make it back home, the electorate wonders whether or not s/he remembers the roots from which such a representative came. Everyone else vying for leadership in this country discounts Hawaii as too distant and too insignificant to bother visiting during an election. It's nice to know that a native son has managed to take time, at least once, to come home and remember the family and friends who have contributed so much to the shaping of who and what he now is and hopes someday to be.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Going Bananas
It's been awhile since I've been here, so let's get right to it, shall we?
Went to a local multiplex this afternoon, figuring I'd see whatever wasn't sold out. I mention this little factoid as it clearly reflects the state of my expectations, or lack thereof...
As I was in a bit of a time crunch, Space Chimps promised to be a perfect combination of available, brief, and underadvertised; it fulfilled that promise. The audience was sparse, the laughter seemed primarily to come from me, (but I've been away from consistent film viewing for some time now,) but I found it a pleasant way to ease back into experiencing a theatrical airing of a movie.
Having just read the Yahoo reviews submitted by other viewers, I cannot help but notice how much the reviews remind me of the political rhetorc airing daily on CNN. There seems to be a very hard division between lovers and haters of this film, and I suspect I know where the lline lies.
I confess I understand why there are those who say all the characters were a bit annoying, even as I understand those who found the film to be cute. On the one hand, I love monkeys: I've never seen an entire group without at least one class clown and an appreciative audience within said gathering; on the other hand, I can see how those unable to ignore the anthropomorphizing simply want to slap the protagonist silly, get the girl drunk to loosen her up a bit and get the rod out of her rectum, and drop the stud muffin monkey into the nearest deepest pit. And yes, Jeff Daniels' villainous character is written with the depth of Dudley Doright's Dishonest John. But seriously, what can one expect going into a movie rated G? The ones I question are the ones who had problems with the language used.
Granted, the puns are groan-worthy corny, but some people like that sort of thing; my dad does, but I don't (exactly) judge him for it. He is, after all, from a different era/mentality/world than the one in which I live and move. Of course, that's a puritanical world in which sexual innuendo is picked up on highly sensitive radar that begs explanations by the innocent. While not everyone who appreciates corn will necessarily be offended by innuendo, those who will be offended won't like anything about this film.
Of course, those who dislike this film because they do not relate to or appreciate the criticism leveled at the protagonist's behavior are not those who will be offended by the innuendo. If anything, they will find the references too tame by far. In fact, there was one and only one comment that caused me to do a doubletake because it seemed so out of keeping with the general tone otherwise maintained throughout the film.
I think what irritated me more was that the protagonist's manifestations of the chip on his shoulder seemed all too real to me. Such characters are alive and well in our society, much too well. They strut and preen, show off and mouth off, and it's all considered normal, acceptable, conventional. The film dealt with this and all other problems much as has the Road Runner over the years. If one sympathizes with Wile E. Coyote or even merely abhors RR's violent solutions, one will find SC less than amusing.
Another way of looking at it, I think, is that this is reminiscent of Mel Gibson's Chicken Run, though I found the chimps more appealing than the hens for some reason.
When all is said and done, I just like monkey muzzles.
Went to a local multiplex this afternoon, figuring I'd see whatever wasn't sold out. I mention this little factoid as it clearly reflects the state of my expectations, or lack thereof...
As I was in a bit of a time crunch, Space Chimps promised to be a perfect combination of available, brief, and underadvertised; it fulfilled that promise. The audience was sparse, the laughter seemed primarily to come from me, (but I've been away from consistent film viewing for some time now,) but I found it a pleasant way to ease back into experiencing a theatrical airing of a movie.
Having just read the Yahoo reviews submitted by other viewers, I cannot help but notice how much the reviews remind me of the political rhetorc airing daily on CNN. There seems to be a very hard division between lovers and haters of this film, and I suspect I know where the lline lies.
I confess I understand why there are those who say all the characters were a bit annoying, even as I understand those who found the film to be cute. On the one hand, I love monkeys: I've never seen an entire group without at least one class clown and an appreciative audience within said gathering; on the other hand, I can see how those unable to ignore the anthropomorphizing simply want to slap the protagonist silly, get the girl drunk to loosen her up a bit and get the rod out of her rectum, and drop the stud muffin monkey into the nearest deepest pit. And yes, Jeff Daniels' villainous character is written with the depth of Dudley Doright's Dishonest John. But seriously, what can one expect going into a movie rated G? The ones I question are the ones who had problems with the language used.
Granted, the puns are groan-worthy corny, but some people like that sort of thing; my dad does, but I don't (exactly) judge him for it. He is, after all, from a different era/mentality/world than the one in which I live and move. Of course, that's a puritanical world in which sexual innuendo is picked up on highly sensitive radar that begs explanations by the innocent. While not everyone who appreciates corn will necessarily be offended by innuendo, those who will be offended won't like anything about this film.
Of course, those who dislike this film because they do not relate to or appreciate the criticism leveled at the protagonist's behavior are not those who will be offended by the innuendo. If anything, they will find the references too tame by far. In fact, there was one and only one comment that caused me to do a doubletake because it seemed so out of keeping with the general tone otherwise maintained throughout the film.
I think what irritated me more was that the protagonist's manifestations of the chip on his shoulder seemed all too real to me. Such characters are alive and well in our society, much too well. They strut and preen, show off and mouth off, and it's all considered normal, acceptable, conventional. The film dealt with this and all other problems much as has the Road Runner over the years. If one sympathizes with Wile E. Coyote or even merely abhors RR's violent solutions, one will find SC less than amusing.
Another way of looking at it, I think, is that this is reminiscent of Mel Gibson's Chicken Run, though I found the chimps more appealing than the hens for some reason.
When all is said and done, I just like monkey muzzles.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Mad for More
Back to the Movies and it's been a delight. Got to see the fourth installment of Indiana Jones proved to be an attempted handoff to the next generation, something someone should suggest to Sylvester Stallone...
Handoff or not, formulaic or not, the film was satisfactory. It probably didn't hurt that I hadn't been in a theater since last year, but there you go. The pacing was swift, the dialogue punny, the situations ridiculous, the resolutions campy. What more can one ask of an Indy film?
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, on the other hand, was so very highly touted and I had such great expectations of it. On the eve of my viewing, I was reliably informed that the new lead is tres cute, though way older... 26 or something like that... (tried to keep a straight face, really). True, there were two epic battles instead of just one: one for failure and one for success, as is proper for apprentices succeeding passing masters. Yes, young though William Moseley may be, this was, indeed, the passing of High King Peter the Magnificent, whose suffix should perhaps be omitted, as his sister so wisely suggests... I do think that the tension between Peter and Caspian is better illustrated in the film than I felt was fleshed out in the text, though again, it's been awhile since I've read the book. I particularly liked the mostly silent Edmund, who is growing up quite nicely, I think. Certainly he is far more intriguing silent than is the oh so virtuous and disgustingly righteous Lucy, whom I adore in the books and despise in this film - too much of a know-it-all this time around, for my taste. Can't say I was all that keen on Susan, either, though no doubt was left that she and Caspian had a non-thing going pretty hot and heavy... Too bad Tumnus is long gone - that MacAvoy had a nice, furry torso... Still, Reepicheep ... well, he's cuter in the book, too, though not by much. And who could help loving the DLF? Eh... Still, I did feel compelled to watch he first installment next day, just to refix my focus. Fun stuff.
What's next? Not sure, but definitely an air-conditioned theater is preferable in this heavy laden heat...
Handoff or not, formulaic or not, the film was satisfactory. It probably didn't hurt that I hadn't been in a theater since last year, but there you go. The pacing was swift, the dialogue punny, the situations ridiculous, the resolutions campy. What more can one ask of an Indy film?
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, on the other hand, was so very highly touted and I had such great expectations of it. On the eve of my viewing, I was reliably informed that the new lead is tres cute, though way older... 26 or something like that... (tried to keep a straight face, really). True, there were two epic battles instead of just one: one for failure and one for success, as is proper for apprentices succeeding passing masters. Yes, young though William Moseley may be, this was, indeed, the passing of High King Peter the Magnificent, whose suffix should perhaps be omitted, as his sister so wisely suggests... I do think that the tension between Peter and Caspian is better illustrated in the film than I felt was fleshed out in the text, though again, it's been awhile since I've read the book. I particularly liked the mostly silent Edmund, who is growing up quite nicely, I think. Certainly he is far more intriguing silent than is the oh so virtuous and disgustingly righteous Lucy, whom I adore in the books and despise in this film - too much of a know-it-all this time around, for my taste. Can't say I was all that keen on Susan, either, though no doubt was left that she and Caspian had a non-thing going pretty hot and heavy... Too bad Tumnus is long gone - that MacAvoy had a nice, furry torso... Still, Reepicheep ... well, he's cuter in the book, too, though not by much. And who could help loving the DLF? Eh... Still, I did feel compelled to watch he first installment next day, just to refix my focus. Fun stuff.
What's next? Not sure, but definitely an air-conditioned theater is preferable in this heavy laden heat...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Another Month
Another month has passed and much has happened.
Gas prices have gone through the roof, causing people finally to reconsider transportation alternatives, especially here in the good old U.S. of A. Let's face facts, though: if I was a poor cyclist before, impecuniousness is not going to improve my balance. So I guess it's back to the pedes God gave me, though they don't work quite as well as of yore, if perhaps as well as when I first received them over half a century ago...
Natural disasters have struck around the globe, from Myanmar and China to the American Midwest and most recently, California. If the cost of the California wildfire down Santa Cruz way has risen to some $10 million and there are over 34 million people residing in the state, isn't that less than 50 cents per person? Or is that not an appropriate way of thinking of the matter?
Daniel Radcliffe was evidently featured on the Rachael Ray talk show this morning, but I didn't get the memo until the last five minutes of the show, during which she was demonstrating the virtues of a warehouse-purchased pot roast dinner in these fiscally trying times...
Rambling does, indeed, seem to be what I am doing here today...
Checked out Facebook... found some addictive word games... sure wish I knew how to link all my blogs so that I don't have to keep thinking of different things to say for each... Something tells me this sort of rambling belongs on a different long-neglected blog...
Ah well...
Gas prices have gone through the roof, causing people finally to reconsider transportation alternatives, especially here in the good old U.S. of A. Let's face facts, though: if I was a poor cyclist before, impecuniousness is not going to improve my balance. So I guess it's back to the pedes God gave me, though they don't work quite as well as of yore, if perhaps as well as when I first received them over half a century ago...
Natural disasters have struck around the globe, from Myanmar and China to the American Midwest and most recently, California. If the cost of the California wildfire down Santa Cruz way has risen to some $10 million and there are over 34 million people residing in the state, isn't that less than 50 cents per person? Or is that not an appropriate way of thinking of the matter?
Daniel Radcliffe was evidently featured on the Rachael Ray talk show this morning, but I didn't get the memo until the last five minutes of the show, during which she was demonstrating the virtues of a warehouse-purchased pot roast dinner in these fiscally trying times...
Rambling does, indeed, seem to be what I am doing here today...
Checked out Facebook... found some addictive word games... sure wish I knew how to link all my blogs so that I don't have to keep thinking of different things to say for each... Something tells me this sort of rambling belongs on a different long-neglected blog...
Ah well...
Monday, April 28, 2008
Snape's Patronus
So Snape's patronus is a Silver Doe, mate to James Potter's stag. One has to wonder how he feels when he realizes what Harry's patronus is and what is must mean about James. It makes his snide comment to Tonks even more ironic, though perhaps his sneer is as much for himself as for her.
Clearly Severus has never been able to get over his infatuation for Lily, the young neighborhood girl with whom he was able to share his delight in magic and impress with his superior knowledge. To be fair to Snape, it does seem that pretty much all the young lads were a little in love with Lily, so it wasn't just a selfish pleasure on his part. She was bright, vivacious, saucy, spunky, friendly, kind, young, and healthy. Like her son, she would probably have made a pleasant ingredient for a polyjuice potion. What more does youth want of youth?
Lily has what Severus does not: loving parents. She even has a sibling, though that does not necessarily seem to be something worthy of envy in this case... Still, young Severus is desperately alone and embattled in his emotionally and physically abusive household. Lily is the neighborhood ray of sunlight in his otherwise dark world. That he should cling to her even beyond her death is both sad and understandable. That he should be willing to sacrifice what is left of his life to protect her son, even one spawned of his most hated rival and enemy, says as much about the wretchedness of his life as it does about his valor and love for her.
The fact that Snape has a female patronus invites yet another line of thinking, though I do not wish to tread down any unworthy path here. Instead of going down the demeaning stereotypical interpretation of weakness at sight of his feminine patronus as Voldemort surely would have, I think, rather, that it is reflective of the ferocity of his protectiveness of Harry, deep down, despite all outward appearances to the contrary. There is, after all, no creature fiercer in nature than a mother protecting her young, as witnessed in Molly Weasley's duel with Bellatrix LeStrange. That same ferocity is evident in Snape's defense of Harry in spite of the youth's antagonism and the suspicions of the Dark Lord's minions.
One might leap to argue with the characterization of fierce here, but let me explain. Being an effective double agent requires a very special personality, one capable of duplicity at the deepest levels. This comes at a great price, however, for such a person can never fully, clearly, believably reveal self to others, any more than a chameleon can resist nature's demand to change in each new environment. Despite this, Snape remains true to his very death, only giving in to his desire to gaze into his love's eyes in the face of her son as he is breathing his last and giving up his oh so closely guarded secrets and memories.
Perhaps those malevolent looks Harry endures for six long years are as much Snape's desperate efforts to conceal his desire for Harry's lost mother as a reflection of his feelings for the father of whom the rest of Harry so irksomely reminds him...
Thus, the Silver Doe, and no apologies needed, except perhaps for the snip at Tonks, whose similarly evoked patronus is so much more macho... ;->
Clearly Severus has never been able to get over his infatuation for Lily, the young neighborhood girl with whom he was able to share his delight in magic and impress with his superior knowledge. To be fair to Snape, it does seem that pretty much all the young lads were a little in love with Lily, so it wasn't just a selfish pleasure on his part. She was bright, vivacious, saucy, spunky, friendly, kind, young, and healthy. Like her son, she would probably have made a pleasant ingredient for a polyjuice potion. What more does youth want of youth?
Lily has what Severus does not: loving parents. She even has a sibling, though that does not necessarily seem to be something worthy of envy in this case... Still, young Severus is desperately alone and embattled in his emotionally and physically abusive household. Lily is the neighborhood ray of sunlight in his otherwise dark world. That he should cling to her even beyond her death is both sad and understandable. That he should be willing to sacrifice what is left of his life to protect her son, even one spawned of his most hated rival and enemy, says as much about the wretchedness of his life as it does about his valor and love for her.
The fact that Snape has a female patronus invites yet another line of thinking, though I do not wish to tread down any unworthy path here. Instead of going down the demeaning stereotypical interpretation of weakness at sight of his feminine patronus as Voldemort surely would have, I think, rather, that it is reflective of the ferocity of his protectiveness of Harry, deep down, despite all outward appearances to the contrary. There is, after all, no creature fiercer in nature than a mother protecting her young, as witnessed in Molly Weasley's duel with Bellatrix LeStrange. That same ferocity is evident in Snape's defense of Harry in spite of the youth's antagonism and the suspicions of the Dark Lord's minions.
One might leap to argue with the characterization of fierce here, but let me explain. Being an effective double agent requires a very special personality, one capable of duplicity at the deepest levels. This comes at a great price, however, for such a person can never fully, clearly, believably reveal self to others, any more than a chameleon can resist nature's demand to change in each new environment. Despite this, Snape remains true to his very death, only giving in to his desire to gaze into his love's eyes in the face of her son as he is breathing his last and giving up his oh so closely guarded secrets and memories.
Perhaps those malevolent looks Harry endures for six long years are as much Snape's desperate efforts to conceal his desire for Harry's lost mother as a reflection of his feelings for the father of whom the rest of Harry so irksomely reminds him...
Thus, the Silver Doe, and no apologies needed, except perhaps for the snip at Tonks, whose similarly evoked patronus is so much more macho... ;->
Sunday, April 27, 2008
HP Immersion
Has it only been 2 1/2 weeks since I dipped my head into the Harry Potter pensieve and found myself sucked into its universe once again? The total audio immersion has been a fantasy escape much needed and desired, though the periodic skips and skids of the cd recordings provided far too much unwanted intrusion from this mundane world to which I perforce now return, if ever so briefly.
I am, after all, only here to take another breath prior to resubmerging myself, this time into the video interpretation of the texts. I suspect this will only take 2-3 days, however, after which I will feel obliged to reread all the texts, having thoroughly confused myself as to which events belong to which medium.
This morning I reminisced delightedly on the reminder that the Ravenclaw dormitory requires not a password, but an astute response to a query that requires divergent thinking, or at least thinking. Hermione really would have found great pleasure in that house, though clearly she would have missed out on much fun and many physical adventures in exchange.
Okay, going back in. When I resurface, I shall probably ruminate further.
I am, after all, only here to take another breath prior to resubmerging myself, this time into the video interpretation of the texts. I suspect this will only take 2-3 days, however, after which I will feel obliged to reread all the texts, having thoroughly confused myself as to which events belong to which medium.
This morning I reminisced delightedly on the reminder that the Ravenclaw dormitory requires not a password, but an astute response to a query that requires divergent thinking, or at least thinking. Hermione really would have found great pleasure in that house, though clearly she would have missed out on much fun and many physical adventures in exchange.
Okay, going back in. When I resurface, I shall probably ruminate further.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Media Muscle Flexing
Is there any doubt as to which national presidential candidate is currently favored by the mainstream media? Not a day goes by without some sort of positive article being published, usually on the front page. This seems to be true on both paper and electronic pages, by the way.
I don't have a firm opinion regarding any particular candidate at present, though I have found myself leaning first one way, then another, as the campaign has wound its way up and down the length and breadth of this geographically vast nation of ours. What I do have a firm opinion about, however, is that I do not care to be railroaded by blatant shouting. I confess my hackles are going up as a sense of claustrophobia from perceived herding continues to assail me. Perhaps I should stop reading so much, though if I do that, how will I ever make up my already too malleable mind?
I suppose if I start scouring a greater variety of news sources, I'll start getting more varied perspectives. Perhaps greater confusion will ultimately lead me to some sense of clarity. At present, viewing the candidates puts me in mind of selecting produce: with so many similarities, how does one determine what is truly under the skin without peeling something open?
I don't have a firm opinion regarding any particular candidate at present, though I have found myself leaning first one way, then another, as the campaign has wound its way up and down the length and breadth of this geographically vast nation of ours. What I do have a firm opinion about, however, is that I do not care to be railroaded by blatant shouting. I confess my hackles are going up as a sense of claustrophobia from perceived herding continues to assail me. Perhaps I should stop reading so much, though if I do that, how will I ever make up my already too malleable mind?
I suppose if I start scouring a greater variety of news sources, I'll start getting more varied perspectives. Perhaps greater confusion will ultimately lead me to some sense of clarity. At present, viewing the candidates puts me in mind of selecting produce: with so many similarities, how does one determine what is truly under the skin without peeling something open?
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Fleeing Flights
First Aloha Airlines goes belly up, then ATA swiftly follows, both citing rising fuel costs as part of the problem. Now the FAA's crackdown on safety inspections is causing American Airlines to cancel flights en masse. What's a commuter to do?
On the mainland, there are still trains, buses, and automobiles as alternative means of transportation, but here in the islands there is an increasing concern (at least in this locale) about the distinct possibility of being stranded on an undeserted island in the middle of the Pacific. What does that mean?
Like Gilligan's famous enclave, there are positives and negatives galore to this scenario. The weather is warm, the people are friendly... sort of... and the food is some of the best in the world, at least for this palate. On the other hand, my cats are "over there."
As this airline war of attrition continues and fuel prices mock would-be travelers, highlighting the failure of the outgoing administration to adequately address an issue that has been identified for most of my life, alternatives seem to be fast fading. Time has become a critical factor.
Where is Mighty Mouse when you need him to save the day? Or Underdog, for that matter? Auwe!
On the mainland, there are still trains, buses, and automobiles as alternative means of transportation, but here in the islands there is an increasing concern (at least in this locale) about the distinct possibility of being stranded on an undeserted island in the middle of the Pacific. What does that mean?
Like Gilligan's famous enclave, there are positives and negatives galore to this scenario. The weather is warm, the people are friendly... sort of... and the food is some of the best in the world, at least for this palate. On the other hand, my cats are "over there."
As this airline war of attrition continues and fuel prices mock would-be travelers, highlighting the failure of the outgoing administration to adequately address an issue that has been identified for most of my life, alternatives seem to be fast fading. Time has become a critical factor.
Where is Mighty Mouse when you need him to save the day? Or Underdog, for that matter? Auwe!
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