Opaque Lucidity

The Texas New Year

It's New Year's Eve morning here; 2004 will be here in less than 24 hours. With my work schedule being what it is, I have to work tonight. Hopefully, I will be able to come in early and get all my work done before midnight. It's kind of depressing to be at work, all alone, on New Year's Eve; however, I try to keep in mind that there are people who would switch places with me in a second.

Kelli and I have a tradition of sorts, one that has been broken for the past two years because of my job. Normally, we try to spend New Year's Eve in Dallas, where my friend Gary has an enormous party. Old friends who don't see each other very often always show up, just like the old days. I love being there, but it almost makes me homesick for Texas. What's even worse is being here while the party is going on there.

If you've read my blog for a while, you know that things are very different now in Dallas than they were when I lived there. But for that one night, for a few short hours, things are almost like they were. We are all invincible again, throwing caution to the wind and living on our own terms. But we all know that serious adults don't live like that, do they? Mortgages and kids and careers get in the way and turn us all into the mortar which holds the bricks of society together.

In me, deep down inside, I still need that wildness to be there, just beyond my fingertips. I no longer want to live the life I lead almost a decade ago---it's too hard on committed relationships and the people who care about me. But I would love to be able to visit it once in a while, the way you might visit your old high school. I was sharp and dangerous then, something that I wasn't before and that I haven't been since. But somewhere along this line of my life, the price of admission became higher than I was willing to pay. I love my life now; it is simple, I have someone who is devoted to me and I don't have to constantly be on watch. It's funny, in a way, to think that, at one time, I didn't think I would ever have the life I have now. I was dug in too deep and moving too fast for this. Part of me says I just grew up; part of me says that I just adapted.

The Depths of Hatred

You may not have heard much about Iran's refusal of Israeli humanitarian aid in the wake of the Bam earthquake, but it shocked me on two levels: that Israel offered aid and that the Iranian regime (considered "moderate" by liberals in this country) hates Jews that much.

I shouldn't be shocked by the Israeli offer of aid. Israelis are much like Americans (many ARE Americans) with their strong sense of compassion, despite the filtered anti-Semitism you hear in our press. When you stop to consider that much of the unrest in Palestine is funded with Iranian money, the Israeli gesture becomes even more selfless.

It was Golda Meir, Israel's 3rd Prime Minister, who said, "As long as Arab parents hate Jews more than they love their children, terrorism will be with us." When a nation hates another more than it wants to save its own citizens, you have to wonder if that nation is worth saving.

Sea Change

With the death of possibly 20,000 people in the Iranian city of Bam, every Western nation is offering aid and rescue equipment. I had a thought for a second, one fleeting second, that this aid might open a door, a door that we need opened so badly. What if this tragedy, larger than anyone can wrap their mind around, changed Muslim opinions of the the US and our allies? What if we were seen as the kind, compassionate people we are? How would the generation of children now homeless in Iran see us as adults when they remembered our kindness?

I know, I know: no single humanitarian act is going to change this hatred. This hatred has to exist in order for a few to remain so powerful. But wouldn't it be something miraculous if we could remember this Christmas as the year when it all turned around, when a tragedy became a unifying event?

Gifts

We're now 2 hours into Christmas Eve here in the Kentuckiana area. Kelli and I will be pretty busy over the next 48 hours, so I wanted to take a moment and wish all of you a merry Christmas. Please take a moment to remember those who can not be with their loved ones because of their service to our nation. This Christmas will be like so many others (too many, really) in which Americans have found themselves in hostile lands. Maybe next Christmas will be different, but I doubt it. Thomas Jefferson said that eternal vigilence is the price of liberty; please say a prayer for those who are out there paying the bill for you tonight.

Like so many adults I know, Christmas gets less and less special with each passing year. Much of my feelings come from what I see as overblown commercialism, but part of it is from just not being a kid anymore and not having children to share the magic with. I have been thinking a lot about the Christmases of my childhood and some of the truly great presents I received. Unlike some of my schoolmates and friends, Christmas with mom and dad was not a time to get everything my heart desired. Normally, I made a list of things I wanted, and I would get a few of them. Now, I realize how much work it was for my mom and dad to shop for five children. It is their effort that I cherish now more than anything.

But there is something else my parents gave my siblings and me that I have only begun to appreciate as an adult. There is no one word that fairly represents what that gift was, but for lack of a better term, Jerry and Pat taught us the fine art of decency.

My parents weren't a sit-com mom and dad. We didn't have deep discussions about morality and ethics and civic responsibility which ended in hugs. The lessons they taught were almost all by example. This is not to say that they were always perfect in their actions; however, a look at their five children today tells me that they were definitely above the fold.

The most important lesson in decency I learned came mainly from my dad, and it is this: compassion is not weakness. My dad is no lightweight wimp; however, while I have seen him angry many times, I have never seen him be cruel or not help someone in need. This quality is not often passed on from father to son. Too many fathers are either complacent wimps (that seems to be a growing trend) or jerks who come up with enlightening phrases such as "men don't cry". Well, this man does and he's not ashamed of it. AND I can still kick your ass if the need arises.

Something that my mother was keen on was what I will call public courtesy. This is a pretty wide-ranging quality, but it's expressed in small ways. For example: when you are at a party and you are talking to two people whom you know but who don't know each other, introduce them (and do it properly: always introduce the older person to the younger person, unless one of them is a member of the clergy, in which case he is introduced first. In the military, always introduce the senior rank to the junior rank). While at the grocery store, don't stop in the middle of the aisle. These are just two examples, but the point is to try your best to make other people feel comfortable in their surroundings.

I believe we have lost almost all our sense of basic decency in this society. It is this belief that makes me appreciate this gift from my parents even more. Merry Christmas.

The Wal-Mart Connection

Think about this the next time you buy something at Wallyworld.

'Here, for example, is an executive at Dial: "We are one of Wal-Mart's biggest suppliers, and they are our biggest customer by far. We have a great relationship. That's all I can say. Are we done now?" Goaded a bit, the executive responds with an almost hysterical edge: "Are you meshuga? Why in the world would we talk about Wal-Mart? Ask me about anything else, we'll talk. But not Wal-Mart." '

Now, substitute the phrase "La Cosa Nostra" (or Mafia), for "Wal-Mart" in the above paragraph. Hmmmmm.

The Light of Day

Barring any unforseen circumstances, I will begin working days on January 12th. I have been working evenings and nights for almost four years now; before that, my job required me to work at least 50 hours a week. The idea of a normal 40-hour week worked while the sun shines is almost unimagineable.

While this move is good for my sleep patterns, I do find that I am a little reluctant. My trepidation comes not from the job, but from the change itself. I have worked alone for years now, and I find that I enjoy it quite a bit. I think my best thoughts while I am here alone; I don't know when I'll do this thinking now. This may seem trivial, but consider the fact that I did once write an entire book in the middle of the night.

Another thing is clothing. My dress style at work is best described as "early slob", with nothing more fancy than a t-shirt and sweatpants. In three weeks, this will morph into a shirt and tie. Furthermore, the days of running around in my socks with no shoes are gone forever. I guess this means I have to be an adult at the office for once. Sheesh.

Top 5 Christmas Gifts

Since next Friday will fall after Christmas, I thought that tonight would be a good time to let all of you know what I would like to receive if money were no object. If you do feel the need to buy one of these gifts and send it my way, please know that it will be greatly appreciated. On to the list:

1. Ferrari 575M Maranello (starts at $225,000): While not the top-end of the exotic 12-cylinder Ferraris, the Maranello has the look of something you might consider driving every day. And everyone knows that I need a 500 horsepower car capable of 202mph.

2. Hatteras Yachts 90 Convertible (cost varies wildly based on options; plan on north of $4 million): I don't really know how to fish, nor have a been on a "sport fisherman" like this. However, I am willing to learn. By the way, the base price DOES include smoke detectors. Thought you'd like to know.

3. Bombardier Learjet 45XR (about $9.75 million): This is one of those must-have items for those days when you wake up and think, "Damn, I'd like to be in Tuscany by tonight." I also like the idea that it flies higher and faster than all commericial aircraft.

4. IBM Blue Gene/L Supercomputer (one-of-a-kind; price unknown): I've always been a sucker for new computer equipment; this baby promises to be the fastest thing going until at least January 15th or so. I'm not sure if it's available with a keyboard and mouse, though.

5. Missile Silo Luxury Home ($2.3 million, but it's been on the market for a while): Nothing says home like a concrete-filled cylinder designed to withstand the punishment of a Soviet ICBM. This price does include 105 acres, which you'll probably need to keep all the crazies out once the end of the world DOES arrive.

Greed

There's a good column on the Fox News website with which I disagree completely. The premise of the piece is that greed influences most advances in society. In other words, a pharmacutical company only develops a drug to fight a disease because it will mean more money for the company and the shareholders. And, according the author, if this means more people live healthy, longer lives, does it matter what the motivation is?

Yes and no. I think we can all agree that most of the things which make our lives easier were invented with some sort of profit in mind. In fact, I believe this is why the United States and post-war Germany and Japan have been so innovative: innovation in a free society pays. So, on one hand, I see no problem with hospitals making money because of illness, because I would like to think that it will lead to better medial care.

But I realize that the profits you and I subsidize are often paid out in outrageous perks, golden parachutes and other kickbacks for a very few who live in the corporate stratosphere. I am by no means a socialist; the people at the top are often the people who have worked hardest or taken the biggest risks. But I see a glaring lack of moral responsibility on the part of many corporations (and CEOs and board of directors) in our nation. I believe that part of this has come about because of the dehumanizing aspect of a large company. When you go to Home Depot, the kid working the checkout lane has no real tie to the company, nor the company to him. He will work there until he gets out of school or until he finds something better. In turn, Home Depot will toss him aside like yesterday's trash if the store closes, moves, etc. This has become almost an expectation for those of us who don't own our own companies.

The situation we are in now could probably go on forever except for the fact that politicians and other talking heads do a great job of capitalizing on people's fear of BIG (fill in the blank---OIL, TOBACCO, DRUG COMPANIES, etc.). As a result, more and more of the voting public subscribe to what those of us who know better call socialism, but what Howard Dean and the rest like to call "your fair share". So, in the most ironic sense, corporate greed may fuel its own demise in a society where profit is banished for the good of the "little man".

Thomas Jefferson was appalled at the Industrial Revolution. He believed that the congregation of large numbers of people in the cities, working in large factories, would spell the end of the American Experiment. When I think about this now, I realize that Jefferson saw the yeoman farmer in the same light I view the small businessman today: the guy out there, busting his ass every day in the hopes of earning a good living. He understands the means of production, distribution, sales and customer service because, at times, he has filled all those roles. It is my contention that only the small business can save capitalism from itself.

LOTR Preview

For God's sake, it's movie!!!

The Enola Gay

The Enola Gay, the B-29 which dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August, 1945, has been refurbished and put on display. I could write a book about the stupidity of modern "peace" protestors who pull stunts like those mentioned in the article; instead, I am going to repost something I posted in the Dattblog in August, 2002:

"i wanted to write about this yesterday, but i didn’t get the chance. august 6th was the 57th anniversary of the destruction of hiroshima by an atomic bomb. 80,000 people were killed as a direct result of the blast and another 35,000 were injured. by the end of 1945, another 60,000 would be dead as a result of the radioactive fallout. pretty gruesome, you say? immoral, you say? well, let me introduce you to the alternative. i promise you didn’t learn about this in history class, especially if you went to a public institution.

the planned invasion of japan was called operation downfall. why invade japan, you ask? because they would not surrender. japan had seen her navy destroyed along with good portions of her army and air force. however, japan had not been successfully invaded in over four centuries and the powers-that-be in tokyo believed that they were protected by god from such a calamity ever occurring. therefore, the allies would be beaten back on the beaches, the country would be saved from shame and japan could go living as an aggressor in asia. but i digress.

the invasion would take place in two phases: operation olympic (an invasion of the southern japanese islands) and operation coronet (an invasion of the the tokyo plain, which is the area around tokyo). 500,000 men would be landed on the beaches in the first operation. the second invasion would have included the ENTIRE marine corps (that’s six divisions) and 90% of the ships in the u.s. navy at that time. this does not include what the russians would have contributed by invading from the north (they declared war on japan in early august, 1945).

total allied losses? probably 250,000 men. that’s more men than had been lost by the united states in the whole war up to that point. the japanese air force still had something in the neighborhood of 5,000 planes, all of them kamikazes in the making. the entire japanese population had been moblized to fight, many of them with bamboo sticks. that’s 100 million people. let me put this in perspective: if you are injured or die in combat, you are awarded a purple heart medal. the department of war (as it was then known) ordered so many purple hearts for the invasion of japan that the medals from that batch are STILL being used today. korea, vietnam, the gulf war, haiti, somalia, afghanistan; that’s a lot of injuries spread out over almost sixty years. if you have a grandfather/uncle/dad/whatever who served in the pacific during world war two, he would have taken part in this invasion---and there’s about a fifty percent chance that he would not have lived through it.

japanese losses? that’s hard to say. some estimates say as many as a million. japanese civilians had already shown that they were willing to fight and die as fanatically as their countrymen in the imperial army. during the invasion of saipan in 1944, thousands of women and children threw themselves off cliffs instead of surrendering to the marines. the japanese population had been taught that the americans were murderers and rapists. ironically, it was the japanese who raped and mutilated thousands of chinese women and held korean women as sex slaves. never believe your own propaganda.

let’s get something straight: all wars are crimes. they point to the worst in humans---greed, jealousy, hate. but we did not start the war against japan, despite what the revisionists try to tell us. the two atomic bombs we used in japan in 1945 did more for humanity and for civilization than any act of violence in the history of man. imagine a divided japan or an america that had to fight a war of attrition in japan until 1947. while unleashing those weapons was horrible, the alternative is almost unthinkable."

Wimps and Barbarians

"We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful."-C.S. Lewis

Please, please read this article.

Canal Mystery Solved

Regular readers will remember my mention of the mystery surrounding the Meigs Avenue "canal". Tonight, after a 90 minute search through some old maps in the Jeffersonville Public Library, my wife and I reached the conclusion that the entire thing is a case of mistaken identity.

It seems that, for the first 80 or so years of its life, Meigs Avenue was called Canal Street. This name may have been derived from early attempts at building a canal around Jeffersonville and the Falls of the Ohio (I have only read about this anecdotally; details are sketchy). No matter the reason, no map from any period in the city's history shows a real canal anywhere near Meigs. From what I can gather, the city didn't rename the street until late in the 1800's, possibly around the time of General Meigs' death in 1892.

I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed. I was looking forward to finding a photograph of some sort of flat-bottomed boat parked in front of our house, stacked high with blouses and boots for the Army. I'll have to hope for a wagon train, I suppose.

Dean's List

Howard Dean is a bigger idiot than I initially imagined. Anyone who mentions both Bill Clinton AND Jimmy Carter in the same sentence is begging for the Democratic nomination. And now, just when you thought things had gotten weird in the "working man's party" (hahahahaha), Algore has thrown his weight behind Dean.

This asshat's going to get squashed like a bug next November. And that, my friends, will make me happier than Saddam Hussein with a beard trimmer.

OH YEAH!!!

Thus to Tyrants

Top 10 People in History I Would Like to Meet

Another Friday, another list. This time, I am considering the Top 10 people in history I would most like to meet. I have created some rules to help guide my reasoning:

1. The person must be deceased.
2. The person would have to answer any question I ask of them.
3. I would have a finite amount of time (about an hour) to interview the person.

So, without further delay and in no particular order, here's my list:

1. Mother Theresa-I think we could all learn something from this saint-in-waiting's life, but I would most like to ask her how she lived day-to-day in the midst of so much suffering and how she kept it together for so long.

2. Lee Harvey Oswald-You know why.

3. Dwight D. Eisenhower-My question to Ike would have nothing to do with World War Two, but about one line in his farewell address to the nation in 1961. He warned the nation to be wary of the "military-industrial complex". Did he know something that he couldn't talk about? Is it something that is still with us today?

4. Franklin Delano Roosevelt-Once again, it would all come down to one question: "Did you (or anyone who worked for you) have previous knowledge of the attack on Pearl Harbor?"

5. F. Scott Fitzgerald-Perhaps the greatest fiction writer of the 20th century, Fitzgerald died much too young (he was just over 40), but I don't think he would've handled old age well. I don't know that I would have any pointed questions for him; I would just let him talk.

6. Benjamin Franklin-The man whose brain I would most like to have as my own, I don't have enough time to list all the questions I would have for him. Franklin witnessed the birth of our nation, was a great inventor, loved the ladies and saw beer as a sign that God loves us. It just doesn't get any better.

7. Pope Pius XII-The 261st Pope, Pius XII was the Bishop of Rome during the Second World War. Since the war, many anti-Catholic writers have claimed that Pius worked with the Germans in Italy in order to protect the Vatican and eliminate Jews from Rome. I think this is a bunch of BS, but I would certainly love to know the details.

8. Winston Churchill-Led Britain through her darkest hour, only to be turned on by the electorate once the war was over. Churchill made some colossal errors of strategic judgement (in both world wars), but there is some doubt as to whether or not England could've survived the war without his leadership.

9. Admiral Grace Hopper-Leader of the team that invented the COBOL programming language and first female admiral in US Navy history. Had great insight into the failures of public education in the United States.

10. Anastasia Romanov-Daughter of the last Czar of Russia. There is some evidence that she may have survived the firing squad only to be shunned by the rest of the family still living in Europe, since they were living on her inheritance. I just want to know what really happened to her.

The Immorality of Environmentalism

I heard an interview today with . While I have never been a fan of most environmentalists, I am beginning to see an even more dangerous turn to their work. Many years ago, while I was still in the Navy, I heard one commentator or another say, "Environmentalism will become the new home of Communism." At first glance, this comment made little sense to me. Now, more than a decade later, I realize that the reality is much worse: the enviromental movement in this country and Europe has become a religion.

This religion has several tenents in which you must have absolute faith. These may not be discussed openly, but the actions of environmental groups prove their validity as points of faith:

-All corporate entities are inherently evil: It is not enough to say that most corporations will act in the best interest of their shareholders, the world be damned (this is something I believe, by the way). Companies and CEOs must be made evil, with the intention of killing poor people for fun. Never mind that every environmentalist I have ever seen drives a car and wears clothes made in a factory.

-There is nobility in Third-World squalor. Never mind that many in Africa and India and other places would give limbs in order to live in the United States. The poor (pronounced "pouerrrrr") of the world just know more than us because they live closer to the Earth. We can all learn something from living in a hut with no running water or electricity and rampant social diseases.

-You should feel guilty for the way you live. You are the problem. You eat more food, waste more paper and water, and produce more greenhouse gases than you are allowed. The fact that your nation helps feed the rest of the world (this is not an exaggeration) and produces more per capita than anywhere else on the planet is irrelevant. Hopefully, the noble savages will forgive you.

Do I think there have been unbelievable abuses of our environment? Of course. But for every step our society has made towards being more aware, the radicals have moved one more step ahead. Part of this is self-preservation of their non-profits, fund-raising, etc. But I believe part of it stems from an old-fashioned socialist agenda, an agenda in which the world can not be better unless we are poorer. From a gated community in Malibu or a condo in Manhattan, this may seem like a good idea (since, of course, the elites will never surrender their lifestyles). But from here, where the rubber meets the road, it's a recipe for disaster.

Uber-Geekdom

I recently purchased an XMPCR satellite radio. It's a regular XM satellite radio, except it uses my PC's sound card to create audio output. I like it more than the other satellite radios I have seen because you can see what's playing on all 100 channels at once. That, and it was about half the price (since they are just selling you the receiver; you have to supply the audio end).

It was during the installation that I was reminded how much of a geek I really am. After installing the software, I set up the antenna. This is where the magic part comes in: the signal comes from one of two satellites in geo-synchronous orbit above Earth, named "Rock" and "Roll". To receive a strong signal, the antenna needs to be place near a south-facing window. Since we lack a south-facing window in our home, I had to go to Plan B----an Earth-based antenna that receives and re-transmits the satellite signal. By pointing my antenna directly west, I was able to get a strong signal.

So why is this geeky? Because I was disappointed I couldn't get a "real" satellite signal. How stupid is that? I wanted Star Trek-cool signals from 23,000 miles away. Instead, I have to settle for a repeater stuck up in Floyd Knobs. Scotty would not be pleased.

After reading the first part of this post, I realize that I should probably thank God my wife puts up with me.

A Day Which Doesn't Live in Infamy

Today in 1941, Germany declared war on the United States. This seems odd at first glance because most of us believe that FDR's "day of infamy" speech and the ensuing Congressional vote put us at war will all the Axis powers. In fact, we only declared war on the Japanese; the Germans declared war only because they wanted Japanese help in defeating the Soviets. It is interesting, in hindsight, to consider that Hitler thought the Japanese would decisively defeat the US and then turn it's sights on the Soviet Union, a country with which it was not at war. Pretty foolish.

Men Surrender

. I was hoping that the redundancy of men would remain a secret until after my death, but I see that I will have to live through the demise of the sex. Soon, men will be hunted like deer. Wait and see. I know how you women are. ;-)

The Olmstead Connection

I have read passing accounts that Frederick Olmstead, the man who layed out Central Park in New York and thousands of other parks and public areas in this country, may have designed the original courtyard planting for the Quadrangle here in Jeffersonville. This excited me to no end, but I did not have definitive proof until now:

Wow! This drawing depicts a courtyard that is a stone's throw from where we live. Isn't it hard to imagine the Army paying for something so beautiful? If you have never seen the Quadrangle, it's hard to picture how cool the place must've looked when it was new and the landscaping was fresh. Kelli and I are going to go take some pictures if we ever get a nice day; I'll post them here if it doesn't suck up too much bandwidth.

There's another puzzle about this project that is beginning to consume me. Over the years, a few Jeffersonville/Louisville natives have told me that the street which leads to the "main gate" of the Quadrangle (Meigs Avenue) was once a canal. I tended to believe this because, about 15 years ago, the intersection of Meigs Avenue and Eighth Street collapsed. However, I can't find any reference to this anywhere. Furthermore, there are homes on Meigs Avenue (including ours) which would've been so close to the canal as to seem impractical. One possibility is that a canal was built to shuttle building materials to the Quadrangle site and then filled in when the building was complete. However, canals were incredibly expensive to build, even on flat ground. I find it hard to believe that the Army (or whoever) would've put up so much money for something so temporary.

Now you know one of the reasons why I love history so much. The "Jeffersonville Canal", if there was one, was once common knowledge. But it has been lost to the sands of time. I'm going to find it.

The Sports God

I listen to an internet replay of The Jim Rome show almost every night. Jim Rome is a sports commentator and his show is syndicated in quite a few markets (Louisville being one of them). The show is quick, smart and not just about sports. I enjoy it because a) it's a diversion from a diet of weird overnight radio and b) it mainly concerns a subject I know very little about.

Those of you who know me know that I am not a big sports fan. The only "sport" I watch regularly is NASCAR, and that not very often because of the radio show. I don't know why I'm not a fan of one sport or another; I've always told people that it's probably because sports weren't something my parents really cared about. In fact, none of my siblings are big sports fans, either.

So as an outsider of sorts, I am fascinated by what I see and hear in the sporting world. It seems to amaze no one that adults will pay $100 for a ticket, $30 for parking and $5 for bottled water only go sit in the elements to watch other adults dressed up in plastic armor hit each other in an attempt to carry the inflated skin of a mammal (is it really a pig?) to one end of a giant field. Don't misunderstand me; people have a perfect right to do this and it obviously brings some of them great joy. I just don't get it.

Of course, sports is nothing new. The Romans had gladiators, royalty in Europe had jousting and the Japanese warlords wrestled. We could look at this and say that human beings have an unending need to compete with one another. I agree. But there has to be more to it, for when you sit on your couch on Sunday and watch an NFL game, YOU aren't the person catching the pass or blocking the punt. So what does it do for us?

I believe we are still in love with idea of the Champion. I'm not talking about one who comes in first in a competition, but rather the ancient practice of having two men from opposing armies fight a contest to either decide or preface a battle. Does this sound crazy? Maybe it does. But consider this: when you think about the Chicago Bulls, who do you think of? Micheal Jordan? Why? Because he was the Champion of that team. Could he have won without his teammates? No. But it doesn't matter---in twenty years no one will remember Scotty Pippen but Micheal Jordan will still be a household name.

If my premise is correct, then this also means that people in civlized society still crave some sort of combat. But that's for another day.

The Literate List

In my attempt to construct a weekly list of one topic or another, I have decided to list my Top 10 favorite books of all time. I call these my favorites because I enjoyed reading them; most of them would not pass muster in more "enlightened" circles. As always, there are in no particular order.

1. Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose-The true story of the men of Easy Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division during the Second World War. I read this book about a year before the mini-series was on HBO (it was published in 1991) and I can honestly say that I have never come away with a better feel for a group of people I never met. Ambrose's interviews concerning the 101st's battle to hold Bastone in December, 1944 had me weeping openly more than once.

2. Faith of My Fathers by John McCain-Regardless of what you think about the Senator from Arizona's politics (I'm not a huge fan), this book is well worth the read. My wife bought it for me when we went on our now-infamous 6-day, 3600 mile road trip in 1999. I became so engrossed that I drove with book sitting on my lap in case we ran into heavy traffic and I had some time to read. No kidding. If you don't have time for the entire book, just read the chapters devoted to his imprisonment in North Vietnam. While he does spend some time talking about torture and the like, he spends more time talking about the indominatable spirit of his fellow captives.

3. On Writing by Stephen King-This is the only King book I have ever read, and it is phenomonal. As much an auto-biography as a guide to writing, it gives an intense look into King's early works. He talks at some length about his alcohol and drug problems, something I knew nothing about. At one point, he mentions that he doesn't remember writing parts of "Cujo", but that he liked it when he went back and read it later. Sheesh.

4. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut-This sci-fi novel was one of five books in a bound set given to me by my oldest brother when I was 12 or so. Had my parents ever read Vonnegut, they would have promptly taken the book away from me. Be that as it may, it is The Sirens of Titan that most sticks out in my mind (closely followed by Slaughterhouse Five). My favorite part of Titans concerns two human men who are part of an invading army from Mars. All the Martians are actually humans; you have to read the book to know why. Anyway, these two hapless souls' ship drifts off course and ends up on Mercury. Since the ship was designed to automatically find the lowest point of land to land on in order to remain out of sight, it finds the deepest cave on Mercury and promptly dives into it. The men spend years near the core of the planet, slowly going mad. Their final solution? Turn the ship upside down and let it climb "down" to the opening of the cave.

5. Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald-A collection of Fitzgerald's short stories, ranging from 1919 to 1938. My favorite is 'Winter Dreams', the story of a self-made man who never quite gets over the one summer he spent with the only woman he would ever love. There is also 'A Diamond as Big as the Ritz', a fantastic tale of a man who discovers that a mountain in Montana is actually one giant diamond---and what he will resort to in order to keep all that wealth a secret.

6. MiG Pilot: The Final Escape of Lt. Belenko by John Barron-Probably the best book written about life in the former Soviet Union. Belenko flew his then-top secret MiG-25 to Japan in 1976 and asked for political asylum in the United States, a request that was eventually granted. The book is full of anecdotes about his life and details like never before the rampant corruption and incompetence that was communism in Russia.

7. An Intimate Look at the Night Sky by Chet Raymo-I received this book for free as part of a software promotional offer. It is, in my opinion, one of the best books available for the hobbyist astronomer. Raymo educates but doesn't bore while mixing in elements of history and personal experiences. It's a short read, too.

8. The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk-the definitive American novel, about a well-to-do kid coming of age while serving in the Navy during World War Two. Wouk actually served on a DMS during the war, so he knew which end of the tube the round came out of. It's also a good book about management, even though I'm not sure that was its intended purpose. If you have seen the film, then you know about Barney Greenwald's drunken monologue at the end. In the book, the monologue is all about his Jewish relatives in Germany and how LCDR Queeg, and guys like him, are the only reason the Holocaust wasn't worse. Strong stuff.

9. The Good War by Studs Terkel-This book is an oral history of the Second World War. Terkel not only interviewed guys on the front lines, but people involved in things that never made the history books, such as concientous objectors and soldiers who helped bury the dead. It was written about 20 years ago, before we started losing that generation in large numbers.

10. The Legend of Prince Madoc and the White Indians by Dana Olson-Great, if not a little unbelieveable, book about the legend of 12th Century Welsh colonists in the area that is now Clark County, Indiana. This is the stuff of local legend and I find some of the evidence too compelling to dismiss out of hand.

The Collegiate Experience for Your Daughter

I have to preface my comments by stating three facts about myself. First, I will be 33 in May, an age that, to some of you, may seem pretty damn old. Second, I did not go away to college. Instead, I joined the Navy. I did not attend college until I was 22, and even then it was a local campus. Finally, I am by no means a prude. If you read further, you'll understand why I had to clarify this point.

I keep running into a weird statistic that has to do with college women and dating. Every time I have seen this statistic, the actual percentage stated is different; however, it generally ranges between 50 and 75 percent. The statistic is this: while most women in college (aged 18-22) are having sex, the majority (let's call it 60%) say that they have never been on a real date (dinner, movie, nihilist poetry reading, etc.). This means that the majority of women having sex in college are doing so via the "hookup", or one-night stand. The hookup may be with the same person over and over again, but there is no relationship beyond the physical.

I am not so naive as to believe that the one-night stand is something new to college life. He-in' and she-in' has been going on at college campsuses since the days of Isaac Newton, much to the chagrin of parents. What bothers me is how common this seems to be today. I believe there is a reason for it, and I believe that reason comes from the institutions themselves in the form of feminism.

Early feminism was about single, separate issues: the right to vote, to work outside the home, to make the same wage as a man for the same work. All of these goals were noble and the struggle was long overdue. But somewhere along the line, the thinking of feminist leaders began to change. Instead of equal opportunity, some feminists began to think in terms of overall equity; that is, they began to believe that men and women are the same in all ways but the physical. To quote Jane Fonda, "All that's different about men and women is plumbing."

Who are we trying to kid here? I have yet to see a man who could deal with carrying a child for nine months AND go through a delivery. I have yet to see a man who could deal with PMS every month for 30 or 35 years. Men, too, have particular advantages, both mental and physical; to think that the two sexes are equal in every way is to live in a fantasy world.

Despite evidence to the contrary, our society began telling little girls that they were the same as little boys. Any difference, so the theory goes, is forced on the sexes by culture, not design; if only you had given your daughter a football instead of a doll. Never mind that anyone with a brain can see behavioral sex differences in primates and other higher-order mammals---the facts themselves became sexist, designed by The Man to keep women down.

This line of thinking might be OK if hormones never got involved. At some point, little boys become very, very attracted to little girls (I know that some become attracted to other little boys; work with me here). In fact, without the rules of civility and religion, adolescent males would all become polygamist whores. So what keeps teenaged boys from acting out when mom and dad and the minister aren't around and condoms fall from the sky? Girls. That's right---the women are at the steering wheel of every romantic relationship, beginning at about age 13. If left alone, most men will drive right off a cliff. That may sound funny, but can you say that it's not true?

Now we move to the college scene, where thousands (millions?) of young women have been told that they are, for all intents and purposes, men. And if you are in every way the equal of a man except for "plumbing", don't you have the right to act like a man? Don't you have the right to have one-night stands? After all, you can get up the next morning, get dressed and sneak away without any attachment, can't you? You don't need respect or love, do you? I mean, after all, a guy interested in a hook-up certainly isn't looking for intimacy or respect; he just wants to get laid.

Of course, this is all a load of BS. Men and women look at sex in completely different ways, and thank God for that. Women "civilize" men and make us appreciate how good a real, caring relationship can be. Without women, we men would still be living in caves. We would have nuclear weapons and beer, but we would still wear the fur of whatever we ate last week. If you don't believe me, take a peek into any all-male environment and tell me if it's any different than if a few women were thrown into the mix.

I fear what our institutions of higher learning have done to women in the name of politically-correct feminism. Wouldn't true feminism tend to demand more out of a relationship than sex? Wouldn't a feminist demand responsible, courteous behavior from a man? Perhaps the definition of what a feminist is has changed.

I also fear what is coming down the road. I know that many people who are wild in college grow into competent, loving parents. But there is always a price to pay for behavior sooner or later, and I hope it's not reflected in the next generations. Some sociologists say that societal mores swing like a pendulum; for all our sakes, I hope so.

Reality

I had a memorable dream yesterday, something that doesn't happen very often to me since I have been working at night. The dream was insignificant, but very realisitic: I went back to work at UPS and all of my former co-workers were still there, just like the old days. The dream was so realistic that, once I woke up, it took about a minute for me to realize I had been dreaming.

Realistic dreams make me wonder about the nature of our consciousness. Except for the chemical "governor" that most humans produce to keep us relatively still while we sleep, we would act out our dreams, regardless of the consequences. This means that our mind can not distinguish between our waking life and our dream life.

Given this, how hard would it be to introduce an element into our consciousness that would be completely believeable? This may seem laughable, but we have all read stories about people high on drugs who jumped out of windows because they believed they could fly. That part of their brain that would normally tell them that such an act is deadly had been turned off.

This kind of thinking is really in the realm of Phillip K. Dick: a world where everything appears to be normal, but is really covering up some terrible secret. I believe a day will come when large segments of society will be "programmed", either voluntarily our without their knowledge, to believe something without question. This programming may come in the form of a drug, or a noise, or something that we haven't experienced yet.

Damn.

Who's the Turkey?

The Washington Post is reporting that (gasp!) the turkey arrangement in the photo below was actually a centerpiece and that the President just picked it up so he could be photographed with a turkey.

Why is this news? Does it matter where the turkey came from or where it ended up? Is the trip now a total farce because the soldiers didn't actually eat the turkey?

The Democrats and their hacks in the mainstream media are beginning to smell of desperation. Furthermore, they can't figure out why this guy is still popular despite their attempts to make him look like an idiot. If I have to break it down for you, you're not going to get it anyway.

Not Your Father's Vega

The BBC News is reporting that one of our neighbor stars, Vega, could be the host star for Earth-like planets. Our technology does not currently allow us to detect planets this small orbiting distant stars, but this may soon change. The exciting part of this is that Vega is only 25 light-years away, practically next door in galactic terms. I know, I know; calling all nerds.

Nostradamus

Last night, George Noory had a guest on who was discussing the predictions of Nostradamus. I blew it off, as I do all things that deal with predicting the future. However, the last hour of last night is on right now and I can't tear myself away from it. Is it that interesting, you ask? No; the guy is that full of crap.

If you remember, Raymond Burr hosted a documentary about Nostradamus that aired sometime during the second Reagan administration. I remember it vividly because, at the time, it scared the hell out of me. Here were some of the predictions:

1. Ted Kennedy would be elected President in 1988. If memory serves, he didn't even run (I think he was drunk that year).

2. There would be a nuclear war some time in 1997. I don't think this happened; please e-mail me if you have seen some evidence.

3. By now, mankind would basically be living in an earthen hell. I don't know about you, but my cable TV still works. Hubba hubba.

While many put some sort of weird faith in Nostradamus, I believe he was just another crackpot who read more into events than the rest of us do. If you read the direct translation of his quatraines, you will discover that they are so vague as to be laughable. Thinking about this brings me to another list of "predictions": the Book of Revelations. If you are a fundamentalist Christian, you should go to another web page right now.

THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS IS NOT ABOUT PROPHECY FOR OUR TIME. I made the mistake of mentioning this to someone on the radio show one day and his response was, "Of course it is!" When I asked him how he could be so sure, he stated emphatically, "Because it is!" I did not mention that this seems to beg the question because I was afraid that I would lose him in the ensuing argument.

I believe a little history is in order here. As the Book states, it was written by someone named John who was imprisoned on the island of Patmos for spreading the Gospel. Many Christians (Catholics among them) believe that this was John the Apostle. While this is possible, it is fairly unlikely. Anyway, the author is not as important as the message (something we should keep in mind about many things in life).

John was a man of his time. In those first few decades after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the early Church was almost stamped out entirely. The Romans were scared of Christians, for they had zeal and were willing to die for what they believed in. This zeal was aroused in so many Christians because most of them believed that Christ was going to return within their lifetimes and oversee the dismantling of the Roman Empire. This is not to say that they were not good Christians or that they failed to understand the tenets of their faith; they just couldn't imagine the Church continuing for as long as it has.

What John wrote was a letter of encouragement to his fellow Christians. His references to things such as "the mark of the beast" referred to Emporers of the day (the 'beast' in that reference was Caligula). His writings were his way of saying, "Look at what's going on around you; surely Jesus is on his way back!" His writings are not unique in their outlook; this seems to have been a trend in the area of the world that we would come to call Asia Minor.

So if Revelations is about the early Church, why include it in the New Testament? Because it gives us a good idea of how hard the first Christians struggled to survive. It's central theme is one of hope, not of fire and damnation.

It is human nature for every generation to believe that it is living in momentous times. I believe this is the current force behind the End of the World crowd, be they Christians or other. History teaches us that similar hysteria has existed at other times in the Christian Era, most notably in the year 1000AD. Remember the year 2000 and the Y2K bug? To hear many tell it, civilization was going to come to an end. But humans prevailed, and we will continue to prevail for the forseeable future.

I believe there is also a sort of "get even" vibe among some who believe we are living in the end times. It's like saying, "You may have your SUV and your big house, but I've got my Bible and when Jesus gets here he's going to kick your ass!" It's as if they need a reckoning in their lifetimes, something they can witness and derive some satisfaction from. This is worst kind of hypocrisy, in my opinion, because it is asking for vengence against someone for the sins they committed which made you feel uncomfortable or left out. And if you really feel that way, should you call yourself a believer?

"Normal"

I was going to go on a political rant tonight, but what's the point? It seems that liberals can't even agree on facts, so what's the use of arguing about ideology?
But I digress.

As I have mentioned before, my wife and I have 13 nieces and nephews (14 in June of next year). One nice thing about being the youngest child in a family of five siblings is that I was fairly young when the oldest ones (now in college and high school) were born. Thus, I like to see myself and my wife (her more than I) as the "young" aunt and uncle. I'm not exactly a hipster, but I'm not a complete dork, either. I enjoy talking to them immensely, for it makes me believe that our future is in good hands.

It also reminds me how much I hated being a teenager. Looking back, it wasn't raging hormones, zits (I still get those) or school I hated; it was the pressure of conformity. I didn't realize it at the time, but pressure from various sources attempted to make me into some sort of soft clay so that I could be molded and shaped into what I should be.

Some conformity is necessary in order to get by in society. We have to wear clothes, bathe regularly (except in France), obey laws and generally be civil towards our fellow human beings. The conformity I speak of, the conformity that now seems to start about age 12, is more used to shape the facade of our society. When I went to high school (85-89), it took the form of beer, IROC-Zs (I never owned one), "scoring", and, that holy of holies at our sainted Providence, going to a respectable four-year institution.

I did what needed to be done, and then I skidded off the rails and over a cliff. I joined the Navy (much to the dismay of my guidance counselor, a priest who will go unnamed because he's still there and he's an asshole [time in Purgatory for that remark: 15 minutes]), came back home for two years, spent two years partying in Dallas, came home and married the girl I should've married years before and settled down in a rented (gasp!!!) house that is a 10-minute drive from where I grew up.

Had I conformed to what was expected at the time, here's what would've happened: I would've graduated from Providence, went to Indiana University, received a degree in Business Management, went to work somewhere in the region, met and married someone who may or may not have been my current wife (this is no dig on her; we only started dating because of a series of events that would never have taken place without the Navy), bought a house that I really couldn't afford, bought an SUV that cost more than the home my parents live in, and started to crank out 1.7 kids, all of whom would be beautiful geniuses with the gift of athleticism.

And I would be a miserable, buttoned-up wannabe alpha male, just like most of the guys I graduated with. Just reading the paragraph above makes me want to gasp for air. I am not wealthy, or particularly wise, but the road I have taken has taught me more about the human condition than all the degrees and CEO positions in the world. I sleep at night, my wife loves me, and I know who my friends are. The road to here hurt, sometimes a lot. But I wouldn't change it for the world. The day may come when I regret my decisions, but I'm not betting on it.

I don't know who the hell reads my shitty little rants beyond the few who contact me or leave comments, but if you are still in your formative years, don't let anyone live your life for you. Unless they're paying your bills or you're married to them, they get an opinion, not the steering wheel. And if you don't conform or fit the mold, screw 'em; the great minds and hearts in this world never do.

100th Entry

This is the 100th entry I have made since moving to this domain from the Dattblog. You have my permission to have a piece of cake (or pie, if you must) while you read this. However, please don't get anything on your keyboard or, for the love of God, on the monitor. If I come by your house/apartment/dorm room and find smudge marks on the screen or crumbs under the keys, I am going to be one angry fat man. Consider yourself warned. ;-)