But what has he done?
It's beginning to look more and more like Barack Obama is going to be the Democrat nominee for President (this is, of course, barring any dirty tricks from Hillary Clinton, and you'd have to be a complete idiot to ignore that possibility). He certainly looks and sounds the part - he's telegenic, an excellent speaker, witty, has a magnetic personality - it's easy to see why so many people have compared him to John F. Kennedy, a Democrat that had strong support among Republicans. One can only speculate what kind of Presidency JFK might have had if his life hadn't been cut short, but there's no denying that he was a leader. He was by no means perfect - there was the Bay of Pigs, getting us into Vietnam, not to mention his womanizing (I can't condone that, but he did Marilyn Monroe - I mean, damn!) - but he had the balls to stand up to the Russians and Castro during the Cuban missle crisis, and how many "leaders" today would've not blinked if faced with the same threat? My guess is very few. Harry Reid? Nancy Pelosi? Give me a freaking break.
And, JFK was inspiring. People still speak of "Camelot" with a gleam in their eye.
Obama is inspiring also, no doubt about it. He resonates, strikes a chord with voters. People find his message of hope and promise of change (the buzzword of this campaign season) to be something to which they can hitch their wagons. And if I weren't such a cynic, I might do so myself. Fortunately, I learned a long time ago not to drink any candidate's Kool-Aid without taking a close look at what he or she has to offer.
It seems that there is one big problem with Obama that everyone not in the candidate's camp has with him - experience, or lack thereof. I do know that he served in the Illinois state legislature and is in his first term in the US Senate. And I remember him delivering the keynote speech at the 2004 Democrat national convention. Beyond that, nothing. A quick look at Wikipedia (if it's on the internet, it must be true!) tells me that as of less than a week ago he's sponsored or co-sponsored 570 bills since joining the Senate. Only fifteen of these bills have been passed - less than 2.7 %. In all honesty, I have no idea what the average success rate of bill sponsorship among Obama's colleagues is, so I don't know how to gauge that statistic, but maybe someone reading this post does. Please respond if you know this; I'd love to find out.
What tells me Obama has an issue with being inexperienced is that even his prominent public supporters have no answer when the question of his resume comes up. This clip from "Hardball" with Chris Matthews illustrates this perfectly. At the 1:33 mark you can almost hear crickets chirping as Matthews waits for an answer. And I apologize in advance for exposing you to Keith Olbermann at the end of this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj4VK9wVAi0 (You may have to cut and paste this link)
What's shocking about this is not that Chris Matthews, a partisan hack if there ever was one, is taking on a Democrat (in this case Texas State Senator and former Austin mayor Kirk Watson) like a rabid pit bull, but that Obama's been a declared candidate for a year now, and his supporters still don't have a talking point to answer the question of "What has he done?" If his advisors didn't know this would be an issue at the start of the campaign, it should be obvious to anyone with even the most casual interest that it is now.
I personally think that politics and political campaigns have become too scripted and structured, that what we see of a candidate is more of a product than a person, but I suppose that's a trade-off for living in an age of 24/7 information, when it takes literally mere seconds between an event occurring and coverage being dissimenated worldwide. If the Obama campaign is deliberately not providing their supporters with an answer to the $64 question in an effort to keep things organic and spontaneous, I applaud their efforts, but not their judgment. I never thought I would find myself agreeing with Hillary Clinton on anything, but this will have to be an exception. The office of President is not a position in which on the job training is a suitable option.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
I could've been a contender...
...or at least worked for one.
I spent the eighties working in radio. From May of 1980 until August of 1990 I logged time at a couple of AM stations when the classic Top 40 format was morphing into what was termed CHR, which officially stood for "Contemporary Hit Radio," but those of us in the industry (especially programming, in which I was also involved) referred to it off the record as "Crap in Heavy Rotation" because we played the same crap every three hours or so. It was an interesting time, because the CHR format incorporated a number of singles charts (back when singles really mattered) from Billboard Magazine, then the Bible of music and program directors. The "interesting" (in the ancient Chinese blessing/curse sense) part came from having to program a song that was on multiple charts at the same time and going in different directions. The quintessential example of this is a Lionel Ritchie song called "Stuck on You," which appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, R & B, and Country charts simultaneously. I don't recall the movements on the individual charts but as you may have guessed by now, the numbers weren't all moving in sync. What to do? Lower the song's position on the station's playlist because it's peaked on one chart? Move it up in rotation because it's just entered another chart and climbing? Do I crap or go blind? Do I close one eye and fart? What to do?
It was in 1988 that a serious relationship I was involved in for some time came crashing down around me. I had based all thoughts of my future on spending the rest of my life with the young lady that was the other half of this relationship, and now she was gone. At the time, it was the worst thing that I thought could happen to me. Hindsight being 20/20, it was the best for a number of reasons. I had been considering leaving radio, but had no idea what I could or would do. Whatever it was, I knew it would involve going back to school to get at least a bachelor's degree. This breakup gave me the kick in the ass I needed to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses and determine at what I excelled. I decided that my greatest asset was my ability to write well, so I set out to pursue a degree in a writing-intensive major, namely public relations (I don't currently work in that field, but that's another story for another blog).
The plan was to attend the local community college, working part-time on getting an associate's degree during the day while I worked the evening shift at the radio station. This would allow me to transfer to a university as a junior, where I could concentrate on my major (communication arts with a concentration in public relations) and minor (political science, which should come as no surprise to even casual readers of this blog). During my last year at the community college, however, I was lead into temptation - a friend with connections to a local 100,000 watt FM station playing a classic rock format informed me that said station was about to lose their midday jock. A shot at a position like this had the potential to change my mind about leaving radio. I got together an aircheck and resume and went calling on the station's program director, a fellow by the name of Justin.
Justin confirmed that yes, their midday jock was leaving, but the station manager was looking to continue with another female in that time slot, so he didn't know if my tape and resume would be given any consideration. However, you can't predict what the future will hold, so Justin encouraged me to leave my stuff with him in case anything came up.
The station did indeed fill the eventual vacancy with another female jock and I never heard anything back from Justin, so I took this as a sign that I was destined to move on and complete my studies. A year or so passed, and I had put aside all thoughts of blasting 100 K of Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones to the masses, but then things took an unforeseen turn...
It was a sunny afternoon when the phone rang. The caller asked to speak to me, and identified himself as Allan Handelman from WXRC-FM. I had heard him on the air, immediately recognized the voice and knew it wasn't one of my sick friends playing some joke on me. Allan explained that he had recently joined WXRC as the station's program director and that the station was moving across town to another building (I knew this to be true - they were moving to the building which used to house WSPF-AM, a station which had "gone dark," meaning the license hadn't been renewed when it expired and was no longer on the air) and in the course of moving he had found a stash of airchecks and resumes which the previous regime had accumulated. To come to the point, Allan said that he found my aircheck, liked what he heard, and that he liked what he saw on my resume, and wanted to offer me a job. Just like that. Sight unseen. A pig in a poke. Easiest job interview I've ever had. Just one problem - I had already committed to finishing my education. By now I had been accepted at a nearby university, got my financial aid in order, received a couple of scholarships, found a roommate and a place to live, and was just waiting to make the big move. 100,000 watts of FM greatness was being offered to me on a plate, and I couldn't take it.
That was eighteen years ago. I never met Allan Handleman in person, although I have emailed him at his current gig, an afternoon drive talk show at a radio station that is, ironically, about two miles from my house. I guess it was about the time of our telephone exchange that he also began what was to become a nationally syndicated weekend show, heard coast to coast each Sunday evening. These two shows have just gotten Allan named to industry publication Talkers Magazine's Heavy Hundred, "the 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America." As you can imagine, this is something to highlight on one's resume.
We often wonder about the path not taken. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what my life would be like, had I chosen to stay in radio. It wasn't that long ago that I considered getting back in the business. I consulted Donnie, my boss for nine of the ten years I was behind the mike, a guy who knows me as well or better than any of my previous employers. Now retired, Donnie told me that he would help me in any way he could, but warned me that the business had undergone wholesale changes since I left in 1990, changes that made what I knew almost unrecognizable. His personal opinion was that anyone entering the business as air talent today had to be crazy.
I haven't given a second career in radio much thought since receiving Donnie's advice, but I often think of what may have happened if I had forsaken my education for an airshift at WXRC. As in many industries, broadcasting has an "old boy" network built on a vast array of contacts and personal associations. Someone like an Allan Handleman is in a position to bring people with him, such as producers, call screeners, et al, when he moves, and who knows where that can lead? He's obviously made a mark (and Allan, if you happen to stumble upon this while surfing the web, congratulations on everything you've accomplished and thanks again for the job offer all those years ago) and I get a rare bit of an ego rush when I realize that I could've worked for someone with such accomplishments to his name. And maybe, just maybe, I might've been along for the ride. I may have not been a contender, but I could've worked for one.
...or at least worked for one.
I spent the eighties working in radio. From May of 1980 until August of 1990 I logged time at a couple of AM stations when the classic Top 40 format was morphing into what was termed CHR, which officially stood for "Contemporary Hit Radio," but those of us in the industry (especially programming, in which I was also involved) referred to it off the record as "Crap in Heavy Rotation" because we played the same crap every three hours or so. It was an interesting time, because the CHR format incorporated a number of singles charts (back when singles really mattered) from Billboard Magazine, then the Bible of music and program directors. The "interesting" (in the ancient Chinese blessing/curse sense) part came from having to program a song that was on multiple charts at the same time and going in different directions. The quintessential example of this is a Lionel Ritchie song called "Stuck on You," which appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, R & B, and Country charts simultaneously. I don't recall the movements on the individual charts but as you may have guessed by now, the numbers weren't all moving in sync. What to do? Lower the song's position on the station's playlist because it's peaked on one chart? Move it up in rotation because it's just entered another chart and climbing? Do I crap or go blind? Do I close one eye and fart? What to do?
It was in 1988 that a serious relationship I was involved in for some time came crashing down around me. I had based all thoughts of my future on spending the rest of my life with the young lady that was the other half of this relationship, and now she was gone. At the time, it was the worst thing that I thought could happen to me. Hindsight being 20/20, it was the best for a number of reasons. I had been considering leaving radio, but had no idea what I could or would do. Whatever it was, I knew it would involve going back to school to get at least a bachelor's degree. This breakup gave me the kick in the ass I needed to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses and determine at what I excelled. I decided that my greatest asset was my ability to write well, so I set out to pursue a degree in a writing-intensive major, namely public relations (I don't currently work in that field, but that's another story for another blog).
The plan was to attend the local community college, working part-time on getting an associate's degree during the day while I worked the evening shift at the radio station. This would allow me to transfer to a university as a junior, where I could concentrate on my major (communication arts with a concentration in public relations) and minor (political science, which should come as no surprise to even casual readers of this blog). During my last year at the community college, however, I was lead into temptation - a friend with connections to a local 100,000 watt FM station playing a classic rock format informed me that said station was about to lose their midday jock. A shot at a position like this had the potential to change my mind about leaving radio. I got together an aircheck and resume and went calling on the station's program director, a fellow by the name of Justin.
Justin confirmed that yes, their midday jock was leaving, but the station manager was looking to continue with another female in that time slot, so he didn't know if my tape and resume would be given any consideration. However, you can't predict what the future will hold, so Justin encouraged me to leave my stuff with him in case anything came up.
The station did indeed fill the eventual vacancy with another female jock and I never heard anything back from Justin, so I took this as a sign that I was destined to move on and complete my studies. A year or so passed, and I had put aside all thoughts of blasting 100 K of Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones to the masses, but then things took an unforeseen turn...
It was a sunny afternoon when the phone rang. The caller asked to speak to me, and identified himself as Allan Handelman from WXRC-FM. I had heard him on the air, immediately recognized the voice and knew it wasn't one of my sick friends playing some joke on me. Allan explained that he had recently joined WXRC as the station's program director and that the station was moving across town to another building (I knew this to be true - they were moving to the building which used to house WSPF-AM, a station which had "gone dark," meaning the license hadn't been renewed when it expired and was no longer on the air) and in the course of moving he had found a stash of airchecks and resumes which the previous regime had accumulated. To come to the point, Allan said that he found my aircheck, liked what he heard, and that he liked what he saw on my resume, and wanted to offer me a job. Just like that. Sight unseen. A pig in a poke. Easiest job interview I've ever had. Just one problem - I had already committed to finishing my education. By now I had been accepted at a nearby university, got my financial aid in order, received a couple of scholarships, found a roommate and a place to live, and was just waiting to make the big move. 100,000 watts of FM greatness was being offered to me on a plate, and I couldn't take it.
That was eighteen years ago. I never met Allan Handleman in person, although I have emailed him at his current gig, an afternoon drive talk show at a radio station that is, ironically, about two miles from my house. I guess it was about the time of our telephone exchange that he also began what was to become a nationally syndicated weekend show, heard coast to coast each Sunday evening. These two shows have just gotten Allan named to industry publication Talkers Magazine's Heavy Hundred, "the 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America." As you can imagine, this is something to highlight on one's resume.
We often wonder about the path not taken. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what my life would be like, had I chosen to stay in radio. It wasn't that long ago that I considered getting back in the business. I consulted Donnie, my boss for nine of the ten years I was behind the mike, a guy who knows me as well or better than any of my previous employers. Now retired, Donnie told me that he would help me in any way he could, but warned me that the business had undergone wholesale changes since I left in 1990, changes that made what I knew almost unrecognizable. His personal opinion was that anyone entering the business as air talent today had to be crazy.
I haven't given a second career in radio much thought since receiving Donnie's advice, but I often think of what may have happened if I had forsaken my education for an airshift at WXRC. As in many industries, broadcasting has an "old boy" network built on a vast array of contacts and personal associations. Someone like an Allan Handleman is in a position to bring people with him, such as producers, call screeners, et al, when he moves, and who knows where that can lead? He's obviously made a mark (and Allan, if you happen to stumble upon this while surfing the web, congratulations on everything you've accomplished and thanks again for the job offer all those years ago) and I get a rare bit of an ego rush when I realize that I could've worked for someone with such accomplishments to his name. And maybe, just maybe, I might've been along for the ride. I may have not been a contender, but I could've worked for one.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Now for some really important news
I mentioned in a previous post that I love college basketball. You can have the NBA. I have no desire to watch what the professional game has become, primarily due to the character of its participants. The game doesn't have a Micheal Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, et al, anymore. With a few rare exceptions (Tim Duncan and Yao Ming come to mind) pro basketball is dominated by tattooed, blinged-out, overprivileged, overpaid thugs (Allen Iverson and LeBron James, for instance). And don't get me started on Shaquille O'Neal. He's 7' 1", makes millions of dollars and can't shoot a damned free throw? I'm 5' 6" and I could beat him in a game of "H-O-R-S-E."
College basketball, in contrast to professional, is a game dominated by coaches, rather than players. A college player can move through a school in four years, but his coach can stay there indefinitely, thus developing a following that attain cult-like status. This has been the case with numerous coaches, such as John Wooden, Dean Smith, the late Jim Valvano (RIP), Mike Krzyzewski, and the subject of today's post, the General himself, Robert Montgomery Knight.
Bobby Knight retired suddenly on Monday of this week. It was a surprise announcement, apparently shocking everyone except those closest to him, such as his son Pat, who is now his successor at Texas Tech.
People are constantly amazed when I express my admiration for Knight, primarily for two reasons. One is geography. "You live in the heart of the ACC; how can you pull for a Bobby Knight team?" Boy, if I had a dollar for every time I'd been asked that...The other is Knight's reputation for being, how can I put this, a little rough around the edges (some people would say he's a jerk).
I guess I consider Bobby Knight my standard for what a coach should be because he's been successful while making sure that his players do what they're in college to do - get an education. He won three NCAA national championships, eleven Big Ten conference championships, one NIT championship and is the all-time winningest Division One college basketball coach with a 902-371 win/loss record, all while having one of the highest graduation rates in collegiate athletics. Knight famously told his players they were student athletes - students first, athletes second. I've often had people point out that to be such a great coach, Knight had so few players go to the NBA. My response is that just shows that his players actually studied.
As far as his famous temper...well, I can't defend some things. And Knight didn't try to defend it either. A reporter once asked the coach about his temper and Knight asked him if he ever lost his temper at work. Sure, the reporter replied, all the time. Knight responded that the difference between him and the reporter was that he worked in front of thousands of people. And I guess that's probably the thing I like the most about Bobby Knight - he's his own man and doesn't give a damn what others think about him. So many of us - myself included - live our lives caring what others think. In the end, it doesn't matter. What matters is being true to oneself.
So here's to you, Coach Knight. Enjoy your well-earned retirement, and thanks from a fan in ACC country for a lot of great memories.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Hi honey, I'm home!
I haven't written anything in over two weeks. My work schedule has been a bear of late, and I haven't had the energy to focus on committing my thoughts to anything of any permanance. Trying to uphold my end of a coherent conversation has been taxing enough, but putting together something that might leave a paper, or cyber trail, as the case may be, has just been beyond my abilities. There are times when I try to write that I probably come as close to the experience of giving birth as I will ever get. And I have high standards for myself - at least for what I write - and don't want to offer anything that doesn't meet those self-imposed standards. If you find my efforts to be of some quality, even if you don't agree with my opinions, great; that's what I want to share. If you don't - well, your comments on this forum are welcome. And remember - opinions are like old Kiss albums. Everyone has at least one, and the majority of them (mine included) can be pretty stupid.
It's not like I don't want to write - damn it, I do. And it's not as if I haven't had things to write about. It seems as if everyday I come up with at least a dozen things I want to write about but can't seem to budget the time to do so, and do to my standards. I've spent more time writing about politics than anything else in the few posts I've submitted, but I didn't begin this with the intention of politics being the emphasis. It just happens to be the major focus of today's current events, what with primary season in full swing, and I happen to care about the future of the country in which I live. At least I try to stay informed, have an opinion, and I vote, for good, bad or indifferent.
I'll try to be more varied in my selection of topics, not just because we have enough hack political bloggers (a redundant phrase) but because my interests and experiences extend beyond the realm of politics. Certainly yours do too. My ultimate goal is to keep this interesting to both of us. I've received a number of positive emails complementing my efforts to date; thanks to everyone for the kind words. Since I can't promise to keep to any sort of regular schedule, I suggest subscribing to the Atom RSS feeder linked at the bottom of this page, unless you just feel like checking in randomly.
That's all my overworked gray matter is capable of producing now. There are a lot of things to write about currently. I'll see if I can put together some thoughts in the next few days, and get back on track with this. Until then, take care and thanks for dropping by.
I haven't written anything in over two weeks. My work schedule has been a bear of late, and I haven't had the energy to focus on committing my thoughts to anything of any permanance. Trying to uphold my end of a coherent conversation has been taxing enough, but putting together something that might leave a paper, or cyber trail, as the case may be, has just been beyond my abilities. There are times when I try to write that I probably come as close to the experience of giving birth as I will ever get. And I have high standards for myself - at least for what I write - and don't want to offer anything that doesn't meet those self-imposed standards. If you find my efforts to be of some quality, even if you don't agree with my opinions, great; that's what I want to share. If you don't - well, your comments on this forum are welcome. And remember - opinions are like old Kiss albums. Everyone has at least one, and the majority of them (mine included) can be pretty stupid.
It's not like I don't want to write - damn it, I do. And it's not as if I haven't had things to write about. It seems as if everyday I come up with at least a dozen things I want to write about but can't seem to budget the time to do so, and do to my standards. I've spent more time writing about politics than anything else in the few posts I've submitted, but I didn't begin this with the intention of politics being the emphasis. It just happens to be the major focus of today's current events, what with primary season in full swing, and I happen to care about the future of the country in which I live. At least I try to stay informed, have an opinion, and I vote, for good, bad or indifferent.
I'll try to be more varied in my selection of topics, not just because we have enough hack political bloggers (a redundant phrase) but because my interests and experiences extend beyond the realm of politics. Certainly yours do too. My ultimate goal is to keep this interesting to both of us. I've received a number of positive emails complementing my efforts to date; thanks to everyone for the kind words. Since I can't promise to keep to any sort of regular schedule, I suggest subscribing to the Atom RSS feeder linked at the bottom of this page, unless you just feel like checking in randomly.
That's all my overworked gray matter is capable of producing now. There are a lot of things to write about currently. I'll see if I can put together some thoughts in the next few days, and get back on track with this. Until then, take care and thanks for dropping by.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Can you spare some change?
It seems the common ground among presidential hopefuls on both sides of the political fence is change. Everyone is trying to position his or her candidacy as the candidacy of change. The Democratic contenders are staking out the anti-war territory, and the Republicans are, to a lesser extent, claiming to return the GOP to the era of Ronald Regan conservatism (something which W has pretty much abandoned any pretense of).
Guess what? Regardless of who gets the house keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a year from now, there's going to be change. W is not running for reelection (although you'd never know it to listen to some of the candidates on the stump). The Bush administration will be history next January, and the 44th President can be counted on to make a number of changes, regardless of his or her political stripes. A Democrat will most certainly make as many wholesale changes as possible, although it remains to be seen whether or not the complete withdrawal from Iraq the Democratic candidates are promising can be done; my guess is that a Democratic president will soon realize he or she has bitten off more than they can chew. Changes initiated by a Republican administration - well, that's anyone's guess. The Republican field of candidates at this point (post-Michigan primary) is so diverse, it's hard to predict what could happen. You've got a successful business executive, a war hero, an ordained minister (and these are just the winners of the first three primaries), none of which you could mistake for any of the other candidates and none of which would presumably oversee an administration as their rivals would. A bookie could go crazy trying to handicap this one.
Only two things are certain - change is the only constant, and a walk down the streets of almost any town can find you being approached by someone down on their luck, asking for change. Perhaps you should ask the scruffy guy with his hand out who he likes for president; his opinion is just as valid and insightful as most of the commentary on this election cycle, including the one you're reading right now.
It seems the common ground among presidential hopefuls on both sides of the political fence is change. Everyone is trying to position his or her candidacy as the candidacy of change. The Democratic contenders are staking out the anti-war territory, and the Republicans are, to a lesser extent, claiming to return the GOP to the era of Ronald Regan conservatism (something which W has pretty much abandoned any pretense of).
Guess what? Regardless of who gets the house keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a year from now, there's going to be change. W is not running for reelection (although you'd never know it to listen to some of the candidates on the stump). The Bush administration will be history next January, and the 44th President can be counted on to make a number of changes, regardless of his or her political stripes. A Democrat will most certainly make as many wholesale changes as possible, although it remains to be seen whether or not the complete withdrawal from Iraq the Democratic candidates are promising can be done; my guess is that a Democratic president will soon realize he or she has bitten off more than they can chew. Changes initiated by a Republican administration - well, that's anyone's guess. The Republican field of candidates at this point (post-Michigan primary) is so diverse, it's hard to predict what could happen. You've got a successful business executive, a war hero, an ordained minister (and these are just the winners of the first three primaries), none of which you could mistake for any of the other candidates and none of which would presumably oversee an administration as their rivals would. A bookie could go crazy trying to handicap this one.
Only two things are certain - change is the only constant, and a walk down the streets of almost any town can find you being approached by someone down on their luck, asking for change. Perhaps you should ask the scruffy guy with his hand out who he likes for president; his opinion is just as valid and insightful as most of the commentary on this election cycle, including the one you're reading right now.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Breaking news - 110th Congress actually accomplishes something!
It's taken a year, but Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi can finally claim to have made an impact.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7888.html
Personally, I'll sleep better tonight knowing she's focusing on things like this, rather than trying to pass actual legislation. And who knows, she may have a second career as a caterer after her days in politics are behind her.
It's taken a year, but Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi can finally claim to have made an impact.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7888.html
Personally, I'll sleep better tonight knowing she's focusing on things like this, rather than trying to pass actual legislation. And who knows, she may have a second career as a caterer after her days in politics are behind her.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Off to the races
I normally hate this time of year, but my two favorite sports are in full swing - college basketball and politics. I didn't develop an appreciation of college hoops until my early twenties, but I've been fascinated by politics since an early age, at least seven. My earliest political memories are of the 1968 presidential election which brought Richard Nixon to residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. My late uncle Max actually knew Tricky Dick as a classmate at Duke University Law School, which may explain why he was a lifelong Democrat.
As my profile explains, I'm a former Republican who is waiting for my home state to again recognize the Libertarian Party. I'm currently registered as an unaffiliated voter, so I have no loyalties to any party, although I have conservative leanings on most issues. (One of the most, shall we say, interesting experiences I've had is being the sole Republican at a radio station populated by Democrats, including a general manager who actually held a local elected office. I think the only reason my views were tolerated was that we all held the same opinion of Jesse Helms.)
I normally hate this time of year, but my two favorite sports are in full swing - college basketball and politics. I didn't develop an appreciation of college hoops until my early twenties, but I've been fascinated by politics since an early age, at least seven. My earliest political memories are of the 1968 presidential election which brought Richard Nixon to residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. My late uncle Max actually knew Tricky Dick as a classmate at Duke University Law School, which may explain why he was a lifelong Democrat.
As my profile explains, I'm a former Republican who is waiting for my home state to again recognize the Libertarian Party. I'm currently registered as an unaffiliated voter, so I have no loyalties to any party, although I have conservative leanings on most issues. (One of the most, shall we say, interesting experiences I've had is being the sole Republican at a radio station populated by Democrats, including a general manager who actually held a local elected office. I think the only reason my views were tolerated was that we all held the same opinion of Jesse Helms.)
So the New Hampshire primary is in the bag, with John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton Cougar Mellencamp, or whatever the hell she's calling herself this week, the winners. The McCain victory isn't so much of an upset, as he won New Hampshire last go-round (although some pundits were predicting Mitt Romney to win) but the Hillary win took everyone by surprise. If the news coming out of the granite state now is accurate, it appears the thing that turned the tide in Hillary's favor was her crying during a Monday interview, and that it was female voters who put their support behind her after this shameless display (if you hear a spinning sound, that would be Susan B. Anthony turning over in her grave). Fortunately, she won't be able to get away with this little stunt again (I don't believe that even her most ardent supporter, male or female, would tolerate another display of waterworks) and she sure couldn't get away with it in the South. I can just hear the average Southern belle now, in a voice reminiscent of Scarlet O'Hara, or perhaps Paula Deen - "Dahlin', will you please get a damned grip?"
Monday, January 07, 2008
Viva la resolution!
Here we are, at the end of the first week of 2008. By now, a number of you have broken some, if not all, of your New Years resolutions. Not me. What do I have, or do, that is different from 99 percent of the general populace? Willpower it ain't. What it is, is a pragmatic attitude about the annual ritual of New Years resolutions.
The problem with said ritual is the black/white concept of the process. In other words, either you keep your resolution, or you don't. Say your resolution is to quit smoking. You stop smoking for six days and on the seventh yield to temptation and have a cigarette. You don't have another cigarette for the rest of the year but you've "broken your resolution." You are a failure - a loser.
So what does yours truly do when January rolls around? I set goals, rather than make resolutions. Goals are an ongoing process. I can stumble along the way, occasionally yielding to temptation but picking myself up, dusting myself off and saying that this is just a minor setback on the way to achieving my goal, whatever it may be. Get back on the horse and continue the journey.
Now, your response might be to say that this gives me an "out," that I don't have any accountability, that I can merely "fall off the wagon" and climb right back on as many times as I want. I see it not so much as an unlimited pass to ride the failure bus as a chance to try to improve myself without beating myself up for my shortcomings. And believe me, I beat myself up more than anyone else ever could.
So what are some of my goals for 2008? Well, since you asked:
Here we are, at the end of the first week of 2008. By now, a number of you have broken some, if not all, of your New Years resolutions. Not me. What do I have, or do, that is different from 99 percent of the general populace? Willpower it ain't. What it is, is a pragmatic attitude about the annual ritual of New Years resolutions.
The problem with said ritual is the black/white concept of the process. In other words, either you keep your resolution, or you don't. Say your resolution is to quit smoking. You stop smoking for six days and on the seventh yield to temptation and have a cigarette. You don't have another cigarette for the rest of the year but you've "broken your resolution." You are a failure - a loser.
So what does yours truly do when January rolls around? I set goals, rather than make resolutions. Goals are an ongoing process. I can stumble along the way, occasionally yielding to temptation but picking myself up, dusting myself off and saying that this is just a minor setback on the way to achieving my goal, whatever it may be. Get back on the horse and continue the journey.
Now, your response might be to say that this gives me an "out," that I don't have any accountability, that I can merely "fall off the wagon" and climb right back on as many times as I want. I see it not so much as an unlimited pass to ride the failure bus as a chance to try to improve myself without beating myself up for my shortcomings. And believe me, I beat myself up more than anyone else ever could.
So what are some of my goals for 2008? Well, since you asked:
- Be a better husband to my loving and long-suffering wife. She deserves better than the guy she's been married to lately.
- Be a better son. I never call, I never write...I need to stop giving my mother the incentive to be a travel agent for guilt trips (and I'm not even Jewish - oy vey!).
- Stay in touch with my friends who are scattered to the four winds. You guys are more precious than gold, and impossible to replace. And if I haven't told you lately, I love you all.
- Read more. Damn it, I work for a book store. This should be a no-brainer.
- Lose weight. Yes, everyone makes this resolution/sets this goal/whatever. I won't be an exception. I stepped on a bathroom scale at my in-laws' house at Christmas and was mortified. I'm not going to share the numbers but it was north of 150 pounds and the heaviest I've ever been by far. The resultant goal is to get down to a maximum of 150. This involves sub-goals of eating better, exercising, and drinking less (empty calories and all that, you know).
- As far as eating, I have a goal of making better use of the cookbooks I've accumulated over the years. I love to cook (after dealing with the public all day, there's no better release than getting out the knife and cutting board and laying into a hunk of animal protein) and feel the need to channel my inner Anthony Bourdain (excluding the foul language - I've already got that down pat).
- Simplify and declutter. K always challenges me to be ruthless when I'm cleaning and tossing out stuff. Time to get serious about this.
So there you have it. A new year, a new start. What are your goals?
Saturday, January 05, 2008
A creative writing exercise...or an exercise in futility?
So...I find myself taking my initial plunge into what has become known as the "blogosphere" (an expression I truly detest, perhaps second only to the use of "Google" as a verb - I refuse to "Google something"), thereby becoming a part of something with which I am not completely comfortable. So why, you may ask, am I doing this? Good question; I hope I can provide a good answer for both of us.
One reason is to give me some focus for one of the few things which I have ever claimed to do with any proficiency, i.e. writing. As an old friend and former boss used to say, when you start a fire, blow smoke on yourself first. I've always been a good writer; damned good, in fact. During my brief tenure in sales at a radio station where I worked for a number of years, the station manager said I was the best copywriter he ever had. A number of my college professors asked if I had ever considered a career as a writer. And let me be honest, it wasn't good test scores that got me through college, it was the ability to put together a good research paper.
I mentioned focus; although never officially diagnosed, I fully believe I have ADHD, or ADD, or whatever the hell it's called. When children were first being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, I sought out my college psych professor to discuss this. I listed traits I had which were similar to those being treated for this newly diagnosed condition, to which he replied that it was nothing to worry about, this wasn't anything that affected adults. At the time, no one in the psychiatric community diagnosed anyone but children with ADD; we now know that adults as well as children can be affected. My hope is that by forcing myself to sit down and committing my thoughts, musings, ramblings, whatever, I can bring myself to focus on other things as well.
About that business of not being comfortable with this process...stepping out of one's comfort zone is the best way to overcome the fear associated with that. I have a lot - a lot - of things about myself with which I'm not comfortable, and one of my goals (not resolutions - more on that topic later) for 2008 is to try to step out of as many comfort zones as I can. I'm a very private person, even to most people who have known me for years, so expressing myself in a medium which can be read by potentially millions of people is a little unsettling, to say the least (although my guess is that only a few friends will read this, but who knows? It might actually be read by someone to whom I don't owe five bucks and/or a six-pack of beer).
A word about bloggers: my impression is that there are two types. There are those, like myself, who use this new medium as a way to express oneself creatively, share random thoughts, blow off steam, keep what is essentially a public journal, that sort of thing. No aspirations of changing the world. The other type of bloggers are the twits who fancy themselves to be actual journalists, like the MorOn.org crowd at such websites as the Daily Kos (most of these asshats tend to blog for left-wing sites, but there are a number of similar right-wing sites as well; the Daily Kos to me is simply the most blatant example of the overinflated sense of self-importance afflicting these clowns). As far as I can tell, the only time political bloggers have made a difference is exposing the Dan Rather/Mary Mapes fraudulent documents concerning President Bush's military records, but then I don't pay attention to those people. My friend Alex K. used to write what was called a blog, but he was a legitimate newspaper reporter and this was merely an online column he was paid to write, so I consider that to be an entirely different animal from some Generation X slacker with an axe to grind taking time between World of Warcraft sessions to tell everyone in the blogosphere (there's that word again) how much he hates Republicans. That, my friends, ain't journalism.
So where do we go with this thing? You tell me, Nostradamus. I have a few ideas for some future posts, but we'll see if they make it to this forum, and what shape they'll take. I'm sure a number of random thoughts will find their way here. There will probably be a few laughs, some legitimately thoughtful observations, you'll likely get pissed off at me at some point; hopefully, it won't be a waste of anyone's time. I already feel like it's been time well spent.
So...I find myself taking my initial plunge into what has become known as the "blogosphere" (an expression I truly detest, perhaps second only to the use of "Google" as a verb - I refuse to "Google something"), thereby becoming a part of something with which I am not completely comfortable. So why, you may ask, am I doing this? Good question; I hope I can provide a good answer for both of us.
One reason is to give me some focus for one of the few things which I have ever claimed to do with any proficiency, i.e. writing. As an old friend and former boss used to say, when you start a fire, blow smoke on yourself first. I've always been a good writer; damned good, in fact. During my brief tenure in sales at a radio station where I worked for a number of years, the station manager said I was the best copywriter he ever had. A number of my college professors asked if I had ever considered a career as a writer. And let me be honest, it wasn't good test scores that got me through college, it was the ability to put together a good research paper.
I mentioned focus; although never officially diagnosed, I fully believe I have ADHD, or ADD, or whatever the hell it's called. When children were first being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, I sought out my college psych professor to discuss this. I listed traits I had which were similar to those being treated for this newly diagnosed condition, to which he replied that it was nothing to worry about, this wasn't anything that affected adults. At the time, no one in the psychiatric community diagnosed anyone but children with ADD; we now know that adults as well as children can be affected. My hope is that by forcing myself to sit down and committing my thoughts, musings, ramblings, whatever, I can bring myself to focus on other things as well.
About that business of not being comfortable with this process...stepping out of one's comfort zone is the best way to overcome the fear associated with that. I have a lot - a lot - of things about myself with which I'm not comfortable, and one of my goals (not resolutions - more on that topic later) for 2008 is to try to step out of as many comfort zones as I can. I'm a very private person, even to most people who have known me for years, so expressing myself in a medium which can be read by potentially millions of people is a little unsettling, to say the least (although my guess is that only a few friends will read this, but who knows? It might actually be read by someone to whom I don't owe five bucks and/or a six-pack of beer).
A word about bloggers: my impression is that there are two types. There are those, like myself, who use this new medium as a way to express oneself creatively, share random thoughts, blow off steam, keep what is essentially a public journal, that sort of thing. No aspirations of changing the world. The other type of bloggers are the twits who fancy themselves to be actual journalists, like the MorOn.org crowd at such websites as the Daily Kos (most of these asshats tend to blog for left-wing sites, but there are a number of similar right-wing sites as well; the Daily Kos to me is simply the most blatant example of the overinflated sense of self-importance afflicting these clowns). As far as I can tell, the only time political bloggers have made a difference is exposing the Dan Rather/Mary Mapes fraudulent documents concerning President Bush's military records, but then I don't pay attention to those people. My friend Alex K. used to write what was called a blog, but he was a legitimate newspaper reporter and this was merely an online column he was paid to write, so I consider that to be an entirely different animal from some Generation X slacker with an axe to grind taking time between World of Warcraft sessions to tell everyone in the blogosphere (there's that word again) how much he hates Republicans. That, my friends, ain't journalism.
So where do we go with this thing? You tell me, Nostradamus. I have a few ideas for some future posts, but we'll see if they make it to this forum, and what shape they'll take. I'm sure a number of random thoughts will find their way here. There will probably be a few laughs, some legitimately thoughtful observations, you'll likely get pissed off at me at some point; hopefully, it won't be a waste of anyone's time. I already feel like it's been time well spent.
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