Met with some old (in both senses of the word) male friends today for lunch. Talked for over two hours, and, as far as I can remember, not one of us uttered the word "election" nor the word "Trump". This is a 2017 breakthrough moment.
Enjoy while it lasts....probably not too long.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Movies and my Bladder
I never imagined that there would be such a strong connection between my bladder and my movie viewing experiences. But they are now very linked.
I wait until just minutes before the movie is to start, then visit the men's room for a final emptying.
If the movie is less than 2 hours long, there is a good chance I will make it always thru without a pit stop. If it's over 2 hours long, the chances are slim to none. Last movie we say, "Paterson", I just made it to the end, then rushed out of the theatre. Paterson is 1 hour and 58 minutes long; over 2 hours including trailers.
About 3 years ago, I talked Nadine into going to the Lone Ranger movie, with Army Archer and Johnny Depp. It was a farce; the Lone Ranger riding Silver on top of a moving freight train, etc. But I did it mostly to see the iconic final scene on the radio: The townswoman says "Pa, who was the masked man", and her husband says "Why, Ma, don't you know, that was the Lone Ranger". The Lone Ranger shouts "Hi Ho Silver", we hear the hoof beats, and the orchestra breaks into the William Tell overture.
The movie was more than 2 hours. Pressure was mounting, but I wanted to see the final scene. Finally, I rushed out to the men's room, did my business, and rushed back to my seat. The movie was still playing; I had made it. They never did that final scene; the movie ended without it. I should have asked for my money back!!
I wait until just minutes before the movie is to start, then visit the men's room for a final emptying.
If the movie is less than 2 hours long, there is a good chance I will make it always thru without a pit stop. If it's over 2 hours long, the chances are slim to none. Last movie we say, "Paterson", I just made it to the end, then rushed out of the theatre. Paterson is 1 hour and 58 minutes long; over 2 hours including trailers.
About 3 years ago, I talked Nadine into going to the Lone Ranger movie, with Army Archer and Johnny Depp. It was a farce; the Lone Ranger riding Silver on top of a moving freight train, etc. But I did it mostly to see the iconic final scene on the radio: The townswoman says "Pa, who was the masked man", and her husband says "Why, Ma, don't you know, that was the Lone Ranger". The Lone Ranger shouts "Hi Ho Silver", we hear the hoof beats, and the orchestra breaks into the William Tell overture.
The movie was more than 2 hours. Pressure was mounting, but I wanted to see the final scene. Finally, I rushed out to the men's room, did my business, and rushed back to my seat. The movie was still playing; I had made it. They never did that final scene; the movie ended without it. I should have asked for my money back!!
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Trump Election Field Day for Social Scientists
This election has turned out to be a field day for social scientists. Examples:
First, I'm currently reading "Strangers in Their Own Land" by Arlie Hochschild, about how working class whites are supporting Republican candidates who really do very little to help them out, at least in the terms that liberals mostly think in.
Then, this morning on NPR, social scientist Shannon Monnat, an assistant professor of rural sociology and demography at Penn State University, has been studying drug and alcohol mortality rates: "Well, so this was part of a larger project where I've been trying to understand the common characteristics of places with high rates of mortality from drugs, alcohol and suicide - these kinds of deaths of despair....So I started looking at the data, especially within regions of the country where the opiate epidemic has received a lot of attention. And what I found was that Trump outperformed the previous Republican candidate Mitt Romney the most in counties with the highest drug, alcohol and suicide mortality rates."
It seems that no detail is going unexamined.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Money versus Time
When I was younger, I had all the time in the world, but not enough money, or so I thought.
Now, I have enough money, but not enough time to do all the things I would like to do.
Now, I have enough money, but not enough time to do all the things I would like to do.
Monday, January 18, 2016
Slowing Down
There are a lot of disadvantages to getting older. But I am discovering some advantages as well.
My natural mode of being has typically been to keep activity lists (either written or mental), and to race thru the day trying to get as many items on the list done as possible.
I just turned 80 last month (December, 2015). I have been meditating on a somewhat regular basis for about three years. This was brought on by my friend Blanche telling me about a free, weekly meditation class led by Diana Winston at the Hammer Museum every Thursday, which is now a high priority on my weekly schedule.
I am trying to "slow down" in life. Being aware thru meditation of how much of my mental activity is naturally in the past or in the future. Go more slowly, be present, "smell the roses", notice more fully the things and people and nature that surround me at all times.
This relatively new desire, to slow down, is now aided by the natural aging process of my body (and mind). I just can't move as fast or as far as I once did. To a certain extent, my aging body must slow down. So, my conscious new direction is in tune with the unconscious aging process. Like it or not, I must slow down. So far, I like it.
My natural mode of being has typically been to keep activity lists (either written or mental), and to race thru the day trying to get as many items on the list done as possible.
I just turned 80 last month (December, 2015). I have been meditating on a somewhat regular basis for about three years. This was brought on by my friend Blanche telling me about a free, weekly meditation class led by Diana Winston at the Hammer Museum every Thursday, which is now a high priority on my weekly schedule.
I am trying to "slow down" in life. Being aware thru meditation of how much of my mental activity is naturally in the past or in the future. Go more slowly, be present, "smell the roses", notice more fully the things and people and nature that surround me at all times.
This relatively new desire, to slow down, is now aided by the natural aging process of my body (and mind). I just can't move as fast or as far as I once did. To a certain extent, my aging body must slow down. So, my conscious new direction is in tune with the unconscious aging process. Like it or not, I must slow down. So far, I like it.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Sarah Palin and Country Man
To whom exactly did Sarah Palin appeal, we sometimes wondered?
Check out the lyrics to this popular country-and-western song, "Country Man".
They pretty much tell the story of the city/country split that exists in America. Of course, it's about as real as the myth of the American cowboy, but then lots of kids still dress up as cowboys (and cowgirls) on Halloween.
Check out the lyrics to this popular country-and-western song, "Country Man".
They pretty much tell the story of the city/country split that exists in America. Of course, it's about as real as the myth of the American cowboy, but then lots of kids still dress up as cowboys (and cowgirls) on Halloween.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Surely, We Already Have Enough
Near the end of the presidential campaign, Obama made a statement about "spreading the wealth around". McCain hopped on this right away, and accused Obama of being a socialist.
This seems to be an old battleground in American politics: Democrats favoring equality, and Republicans favoring opportunity. A Republican argument might be that we should do everything to favor entrepreneurship among our people, so that we can make the whole pie bigger; lower taxes will incentivize risk-taking; higher taxes discourage it. Democrats perhaps somewhat more concerned with how the pie gets divided up; take from the rich; give to the poor.
It occurs to me that we, at least in America, already have enough, as a nation. Do we need to make the pie bigger? For what purpose? It seems to me that our pie is big enough by now...we don't need more "stuff". What we need is to do is to work towards:
This seems to be an old battleground in American politics: Democrats favoring equality, and Republicans favoring opportunity. A Republican argument might be that we should do everything to favor entrepreneurship among our people, so that we can make the whole pie bigger; lower taxes will incentivize risk-taking; higher taxes discourage it. Democrats perhaps somewhat more concerned with how the pie gets divided up; take from the rich; give to the poor.
It occurs to me that we, at least in America, already have enough, as a nation. Do we need to make the pie bigger? For what purpose? It seems to me that our pie is big enough by now...we don't need more "stuff". What we need is to do is to work towards:
- Ensuring that it is divided more equally, so that everyone has their basic needs met (food, shelter, clothing, jobs, education, medical care).
- Changing our consumption and savings patterns so that:
- .....We spend what is needed on stuff that is essential (all of the above listed items)
- .....And spend less on stuff that is not needed (oversized cars, oversized houses, etc)
- .....And invest more on moving towards a life-style that is sustainable for us and for our planet for the long-term.
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