In Honor of George Carlin: education and jobs

George Carlin, whose social commentaries will be missed -- for being so often right on target with no gift wrap (BS) in so many areas (as in: in 1996, he noted that airline safety was impossible, "too many people have access"...)-- rightly underlined that the modern world (progress, democracy, etc) prides itself on educating its people and giving them jobs. True. However, no one but George Carlin noted that no one likes going to school or to work....

Death and War: Daily life in perspective

While Camus posited, correctly, that the only real problem of human existence was suicide (because. one way or the other, you therefore assert values that lead you to justify and question human existence and your own life), I am now considering a variation thereof, or the next level thence (nice word, isn't it?): death--which can be in moral/general terms, or on the individual level--and war--which is more reality-grounded as well as practical and general, and deals with the death of many, not just of the individual or of an individual. (And war leads to poverty, misery, neglect, traumas/psycholgical disorders, economic problems, infrastructure problems, raises questions of education (certainly in human terms, something often neglected/ignored in educational curricula and milieus), etc., etc.)

A fascinating thinking grid there, which, like Camus' suicide interrogation, does indeed throw into relief the basics of human existence (power plays/politics, "values", shock of cultures or civilizations and/or beliefs, etc. (including religions, since so many are still hooked on that medieval, or pre-medieval in fact, system).

The questions of human existence with these two swords of Damocles hanging over our heads does take on some sharp contrasts in this grid. Big, or bigger, picture considerations, to begin with both on a personal or philosophical level, in absolute terms, and then of course on the level of practical and relative terms.

So, I'll leave it at that for now. But once you delve into those two questions, read, and reflect upon war experiences or death (and Tim Russert's is a case in point), think of here and now while bearing in mind that at this very second, someone is probably dying somewhere in the world, and that a war is on, and therefore many are making life-changing and life-threatening decisions, in this very moment, things do look a bit different, don't they? Everything, the here and now, is at least slightly shifted or tweaked, put in perspective, or deeper, once you have these two considerations actively or acutely in mind...

Big Words, No Scare

Don't let big words scare you. On the results of a medical exam I just had (MRA, i.e., an MRI of the cerebral arteries), I see "slow flow lesion"... So, of course, I stop walking right there to read more and the rest (I'll spare you the filler) says "consistent with a venous angioma", which is basically a vein with an extra thickness, a bit like a birthmark on your skin, and this thing is probably from birth, so we've been together for a long time. (Yes, it could get worse with time, or prolonged stress, or whatever else, but so can anything or body part, even healthy and perfect from birth...)

That's why they let your docs see these reports first before you do. It is a long story as to how I got it before the doc (because the one I saw first is a horse's patoote (businessman, ambulance chaser, probably ready to shave my head and go in to get himself that boat or the newer car he must want to impress the neighbors and colleagues/rivals) and I am seeing another one for a better, trustworthy, or legally: ""second", opinion...)

And anyway, I do speak Greek --er.. ancient Greek-- which allows me to read all those big words and not be scared of them...

It's a bit like when you read on a classy joint's menu "champignons sur canape" everybody knows that "champignons" is mushrooms and "canape" is a couch, the whole thing sounds high class and luxurious, alluding to even eating mushrooms on a couch, probably a la Roman Orgy, etc.. But in culinary terms, "canape" means a bed -- in this case: of bread... You are going to eat mushrooms (in sauce, of course) on a slice of bread. Sounds rather plain, doesn't it? But "champignons sur canape"... ah, that is immediately mouth watering, decadent, rich, opulent, classy, five stars, etc..

"Lesion" means abnormality, even if minor (hey, I got a busy head, OK?), and "angioma" means more or less the same.
Hopefully, these are NOT famous last words....

More later when I see the next expert who hopefully is not desperate for a newer car or bigger boat.....

"Now What?"

That was the question Robert Kennedy asked his brother John at the Democratic convention back then when LBJ accepted the offer to be VP, an offer all had expected him to refuse. Bobby had been against extending the offer, Jack felt this would smooth LBJ whose support JFK needed... And LBJ took it (could never refuse a chance to move on up...), despite his scorn and disdain for those rich, snotty northeastern brats...

Same question now for Obama: Hillary as VP? Crucial for some constituencies he has not secured, and may never get, and it would heal a little the fractures in the democratic party. Yet, she carries negatives, yes, we know.
But the bigger problem is how much space she would take in an Obama White House, how firm her support would be (although a consumate politician, she is..), and she comes with Bill, whom I used to love but who has shown surprising, repeated ... shall we say: "lacks" and wants during the primaries...

So, I'd say no. BUT I am not a politician and Obama will hopefully choose with the same flair and brains he has displayed, OK. But let's not mess it up either on purely political reasons (or Treasons...). Hillary represents an old-fashioned way of doing politics, with dirty tricks et al, and she has shown it. But she would be a brainy and able president, which is what a VP is chosen for, and that would be a welcome change...

On the other hand, if together, the ticket makes it and sends McCain packing for sure, that is a major consideration. One should never underestimate the capacities of an electorate that elected George W. Bush in 2004... Not to mention those who will come out of the woodwork for sure to vote against the Black man (or the woman)...

Summer is officially here

Official: Summer is here.

Oreo, my furry paperweight of a cat (sleeps 23h 47 minutes a day and eats, period, end of activities), has moved his hindquarters (can't call them "HEADquarters", he is a very organic and instinctual cat) to the back deck on his (rusty) chaise lounge. So, in case you did not know yet: it is official, it IS Summer with a capital S (88 degrees forecast for today, anyway, and humidity to boot--good for your skin, they say...).

Indoors A/C hibernation begins, with white, blinding sunlight, burning of hands on car door handles, and three t-shirts a day if you do anything outdoors...
Welcome to semi-tropical paradise thirty years later... (Variation on: the Grass is always greener...)


PS: On the other hand, summer is not fully here yet, the ocean is not at 80 degrees and I don't go in if it is not at 80 degrees (rule I broke only three times in twenty some years. By The official date of summer, in three weeks, there will have been enough northern bodies in the ocean to warm it up a few more degrees and make it 80 degrees, I guess....