Thoughts on this weeks election…

Winners

• Don Rumsfeld – At least he gets out of the Iraq mess alive.
• George Bush – Now he can blame the Democrats who control Congress.
• Kerry Healey – She bowed out of the MA Governor’s race with dignity and a message of bipartisanship.
• Howard Dean – Depicted as crazy because he actually showed human emotion, he architected a grass-roots win for his party in some formerly red, but now purplish states.
• Alternative Energy – Democrats talked about it…a lot. Now let’s see some action.
• President Obama – Oh, sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself…

Losers

• Dick Cheney – If there’s anyone the Democrats are coming after, it’s you.
• John Kerry – Please go away and don’t screw up 2008.
• Ken Mehlman – The GOP national chairman um, sucked. Fortunately he has a plan B. Isn’t he the guy in the AccountTemps radio spots?
• Successful dirty, smearing politics – Unfortunately this one isn’t dead.
• Warrantless Wiretaps – The beginning of the end of the erosion of our civil liberties.

Sparks flew last night at dinner… Flavor sparks. Broiled Shrimp and Twin Lobster tails, Prime Sirloin Steak… It was a wonderful meal. We walked it off over 15 blocks then skied 1250 feet up to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building. More great shots of what we gazed at are here.

Walking along, Jessica said, “Dad, you could have a few girlfriends here.” We walked and the eye candy passed. I wondered how real any of them were.

I’ve got nothing for you today, people… or person… Whatever. Desire to be creative is lacking lately, so here’s some stuff I found while sorting socks.

I think thinking is a good use of ones time. I believe external stimulus can help the process simply by altering perception, even slightly. Classes, art, music, the beauty in nature, wine… Whatever it takes, just think. Here are some tips to help you think like a genius.

Speaking of geniuses, Red Auerbach was a no-show last week at the Celtics home opener. He had a good excuse as he had died. After 56 opening nights, the thought of Celtic cheerleaders must have been too much and Red bowed out. I never actually saw a Red coached Celtic team, but this from his last team sure got me interested. I did own this record… Hopefully I still have it.

Dick Cheney is not a genius, but he is compared to Dubya. Today in an interview with ABC, the Vice President of the United States said regarding Iraq, “It may not be popular with the public. It doesn’t matter, in the sense that we have to continue what we think is right. That’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re not running for office. We’re doing what we think is right.” On Tuesday the voters will respond and let Mr. Cheney know it does matter. Say goodnight, Dick.

Let’s lighten things up with a few videos by my current favorite band, the Drive By Truckers:

• At The Metro in Chicago IL
• “Never Gonna Change”
• Making of “A Blessing and a Curse”
• NPR interview and a whole show from the 9:30 Club in Washington DC

Finally, I do believe the Patriots will drill Peyton Manning with regularity into the new turf tonight at Foxborough and thrash the Dolts, but I could be wrong…

“Where we have strong emotions, we’re liable to fool ourselves.” – Carl Sagan

Thanks for the reality check, Carl. I just hope I can stay awake for it.

I read my posts. After working in the yard for a while, I just came in to make lunch for Mr. Kyle Daley. After negotiating pizza with the lad, I turned on the oven to pre-heat 450, then I sat to read some stuff on bloglines. While reading my post of this morning, I thought about that dude in Glendale. Besides the karma thing, we also had some deep discussions on metaphysics and the power of the mind. Now I haven’t yet moved an object with my mind, but sometimes it does scare me alive. After a few minutes, the boy asked if the pizza was cooking. “I’m waiting for the oven to heat up, my boy.” A few more minutes passed and I looked up at Kyle. It was no problem reading his mind at that moment, then I said, with deliberate pacing, “I… think… it’s… going… to… be… ready… right… now!” At that very moment between the “now” and the silence, the oven beeper went off telling us that 450 had arrived.

Coincidence or Serling-worthy?

While performing with his band on an hour-long webcast from the Ed Sullivan Theatre, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder was talking about the lyrical interpretation of a song. Some, he said, heard “Scared Alive,” while others heard “Scared of Life.” Then he noted, “there’s quite a big difference in those two…”

For what it’s worth, and right now it’s worth a simple definition, Wikipedia defines Karma as “action or activity and its subsequent results.” It goes on to color the definition further as, “the fruits of action.”

I’ve believed in the power of Karma for quite some time now; actually since the early 80’s. Simply, I believe ones actions end up coming back around in one form or another. If they’re positive, good things await. Negative… well, chances are it ain’t gonna be good.

On a wet dreary day about a quarter century ago, I needed money badly. I don’t recall why, but I remember my frustration nearing its peak when my employer informed me “the checks hadn’t come in” that day. Driving home in a POS VW Rabbit I was thinking about stealing the money, then drifted in thought to all the failures I’d non-achieved in 23 years that had me in this position. I was at the proverbial fork in the road. At that point… on that dark, wet and angry road… I decided to take the one, um, less traveled. I’d try this “karma” thing I heard about in the California sunshine… I’d try to stay and act positive, and “do the right thing” when faced with decisions. I stayed positive and thought about constructive things I could do to change. I actually began to feel better… calmer. When I got home, a tax refund check was on our kitchen table. That ten minutes changed my life. I don’t know where it might have gone if I’d wandered a different road that day, but I’m fairly certain it wouldn’t have led here to this life I love.

I escaped it. I’m never going back again.

Life Wasted – Pearl Jam
Let me say just once that

I have faced it, a life wasted
I’m never going back again
I escaped it, a life wasted
I’m never going back again
having tasted, a life wasted
I’m never going back again

The world awaits just up the stairs
Leave the pain for someone else
Nothing back there for you to find
Or was it you you left behind?

You’re always saying you’re too weak to be strong
You’re harder on yourself than just about anyone

Why swim the channel just to get this far?
Halfway there, why would you turn around?

Darkness comes in waves…tell me,
Why invite it to stay?

You’re one with negativity
Yes, comfort is an energy
But why let the sad song play?

I have faced it, a life wasted
I’m never going back again

Oh I escaped it, a life wasted
I’m never going back again

having tasted, a life wasted
I’m never going back again

oh i erased it, a life wasted

This cliché originated, I believe, as a description of tidal behavior. Webster includes the following two definitions:

• Ebb – the reflux of the tide toward the sea
• Flow – RISE

Another version of ebb is “a point or condition of decline .” I used the term last night with Megan who’s been suffering an ebb in her spirit for a little while. While I didn’t know what, if anything, was causing adversity in her life, I knew she needed some help, or “the same old schpiel” as she lovingly refers to it. Attempting to paint a picture of the tides of life, the advice was/is to keep swimming… to keep balanced as she rides the waves that inevitably ebb and flow. Sometimes we don’t know why we rise and fall, but there are basics we need to do to stay afloat… learn… work… parent… listen… love.

Today I discovered the forces pulling her down. Time to parent… listen… love… persevere…

On November 7th, that man (or woman) is going to be you. Will you vote? If so, how? Have you given it any thought? From the international/national to a more local perspective, here’s what I’m thinking:

President Bush and the neocons – My hope is that the Democrats win control of the House and the Senate to neutralize this destructive administration. Of course, I can’t really influence that one. In Massachusetts, we only sent Dems to Congress anyway.

Gay Marriage – Is this the issue the Conservatives, Christian Coalition and “Moral” Majority think they can run on? Please. Is that all they’ve got? Oh, no, they also have…

Immigration – If the immigrants flowing North were a bunch of white folks, would this even be an issue?

Iraq – I don’t care if they try to stick a “cut and run” button on me. Get our kids out of that hellhole now. The people fighting us will never stop until we leave; just like in Vietnam. Oh, I also don’t recall any of the 9/11 terrorists being Iraqi. Most were disenchanted Saudi’s. Why are they pissed off at us? Because we support their dictatorship, um, I mean monarchy.

Energy – What exactly has the Bush Administration and the Republican controlled Congress done about this? Oh yeah, we attacked Iraq and Big Oil makes BILLIONS of dollars in profit regardless of the price of oil. Oh, and the idiots in Detroit keep making lousy, gas guzzling cars. I’ll vote for candidates that truly support renewable energy.

MA Governor – Kerry Healey (R) or Deval Patrick (D)
I’m kinda torn on this one. As much as I want to vote straight Democrat as a protest to the Bush Administration, I also want some checks and balances on the Democrat dominated Massachusetts legislature… Let me get back to you on that one.

Ballot Questions

1. Wine Sale in Food Stores – That’ll save me a trip to Kappy’s.
2. Candidates Nominated by More Than One Political Party – Huh?
3. Unionization of Family Child Care Providers – No.

Why does Cardinal manager Tony LaRussa?

Speaking of Dark Horses, I’m getting ready to work on the Barack Obama for President campaign. I like what I’ve seen and heard so far, but Mr. Obama has some major hurdles to overcome in order to win enough votes in cretin-rich red states:

• He’s African-American
• He’s an athiest
• He’s got a highly functioning brain
• His name rhymes with “Osama”

So far, his forthrightness attracts me most. In an interview Monday with New Yorker editor David Remnick at the American Magazine Conference, Mr. Obama was asked if his admission of drug (pot) use might hurt his presidential chances:

Classic. He went on to quip that he wouldn’t fit in well with the Bushies because, “actually being informed is a good basis for policy.” Finally, with regard to religion, he was very direct. “Evolution is more grounded in my experience than angels.”

I like this guy. Of course after Fox News is finished with him, red state white women will be convinced he’s lurking outside their homes ready to murder them and steal their children.

It’s sad. Our decline as a nation is accelerating. It is led by George Bush.

Hey… How’s it going? I’ve been away most of the days and nights since October 9th on business. It’s not that I haven’t been thinking of you. I have. Really.

My trip to Chicago is now just a blur. A sweet Italian dinner one night with Barb’s new team was a highlight… After one night at home and dinner out with Kyle, I was back on a plane, this time to Wally World. I met Jack (4), Kaitlin (8) and their mom on the flight down to Orlando. Jack’s mom told me he was slightly autistic, but she was hopeful the trip would go well. Jack was cool on the plane. He fell asleep before we hit cruising altitude.

My dad was more than a bit surprised when he opened the door to me later that day. It was his 73rd birthday and I worked out the surprise visit with his wife, Caroline. We had dinner with a few friends of theirs at their favorite place at the Villages and then had cake and presents at their home. My dad loves horses and on a previous October 13th I had given him this Degas print. This year a Degas sculpture to match seemed to please the birthday boy.

25 years and a week passed between dad’s date of birth and mine. Some mornings when I see him in my mirror, it sure seems like many years less. After this now-73 year old man beat me at a round of golf here, I think it rejuvenated him a bit. He hadn’t been playing much lately and I sense he’s a little depressed over life gone by and chances not taken. Still, he was out there and still can go out there. As his friend Wendy said as she motioned toward the local hospital just behind some distant trees, “There are lots of people in there who which they could be out here hacking like us.”

Two days were too short, but it was time well spent for both of us. “Keep getting out there, Dad,” I implored before hugging him and saying, “I love you.”

After my 4-day work event was over I found myself sitting again in an aluminum tube. Alone with my thoughts and accompanying iPod soundtrack, I saw a familiar and smiling face coming toward me. As she got closer her smile widened, so I got to my feet to let her and Kaitlin in next to me. Jack and his dad were in the seats next to us. Jack’s mom said they had a wonderful trip and showed me all the pictures in a tiny LCD screen on her digital camera. We’d come full circle.

At the gate in Boston, I stood waiting to de-plane and noticed an attractive 40-ish woman in the seat behind me. After a brief hesitation, I asked if she was enjoying “Angels and Demons.” My conversation with Tina continued all the way to baggage claim. I wish I’d got her number, but initiating the conversation was good enough for now. This past Friday night I did the same thing with Kathy at the local grocery store. I’d seen her a few times before, but never had the chutzpah to approach her. I stood in the rain and introduced Kyle and myself. I asked her if I could meet her there next Friday. “Probably,” she said with a smile.

“That’s so random!” I hear that often from Megan and her friends. I’m really going to have that reviewed upstairs so I know what the hell it means. Maybe I’ll just ask her. Currently nestled in 20B on my way to Chicago, it’s break time from a Powerpoint for presentation next week. A Megan hand-me-down iPod Nano is on “shuffle,” so I can now shamelessly copy Jeff’s blog staple, “last ten shuffled songs on my iPod:”

1. Panic in Detroit – Aladdin Sane – David Bowie
2. Twilight – From a Basement on a Hill – Elliott Smith
3. Love the One You’re With – CSNY – Four Way Street
4. Ill Placed Trust – Sloan! – Never Hear the End of It (NEW!)
5. Meet Me On the Ledge – Varnaline – Varnaline
6. Youngstown – Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band – Live in NYC
7. Stage Fright – The Band – To Kingdom Come
8. Midnight Rambler – Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed
9. Come On Now – Anders Parker – Tell it to the Dust
10. Last Goodbye – Jeff Buckley – Grace

The off the chart popularity of the iPod and digital music, especially the free kind the youth of America prefer is laying waste to the music label, especially ill-advised new ones. Bob Lefsetz describes the phenomena perfectly: “But a NEW label has nothing. Only an excessive burn rate. So you spend all that money with the usual suspects, people who’ve been musical-chaired out of the major label system, paying for not only pressing, but distribution and promotion. Everybody blowing smoke up your ass as you try to get in the big box store, the only place where you can sell and make money anymore, purchasing an advertising campaign that is like throwing coins off a cliff since you’ve got no traction, because you can’t get on radio and MTV plays no videos.”

That paragraph tells much of the story of Tar Hut Records; well the part about getting smoke blown up our ass and throwing coins off a cliff. The Martin’s Folly record “Man’ It’s Cold” is a perfect example. We paid a couple grand to get a listening station in hundreds of Borders stores and a couple more to get an independent promoter to work it to radio. Well, pal Jeff happened to be in a radio studio talking to a program manager when said promoter called to “work” the records she was paid to. Funny thing is, she didn’t mention ours while squawking out of the speakerphone. That was the smoke up the ass part. Coins off a cliff came in the form of the many Borders I visited in California that not only didn’t have the record in a listening stations, but they didn’t have it period! The Borders thing did, in the end, produce a windfall for our little label: thousands of CD returns and splashing kerosene to accelerate the burn rate of the Tar Hut Records pyre.