Oh boy, I feel like Luke Appling this morning. I'm sure I don't have to explain this reference, but I will anyway. Luke Appling* was a WWII-era baseball player; he was very good (Hall of Famer), but he complained frequently to teammates about minor physical ailments, earning him the nickname "Old Aches And Pains". I did an MMA workout DVD yesterday that I haven't done in a while -- it exercises a lot of muscle groups I don't normally work (believe it or not, combo punching and fence walking aren't part of my daily routine) -- and I woke up this morning embarrassingly stiff and achy. I struggled to bend over to put my socks on. I'm not even old yet.
I also seem to have something (hopefully) minor going on with my ENT system. I have a bit of a sore throat, a bit of a runny nose, and a bit of an earache. I'm slightly paranoid it's strep throat because a friend of mine whom I was in close proximity to last week has strep, but I'm not exhibiting the symptoms of strep, and I was feeling fine for nearly a week after contact, so rationally I really don't think that's it. S started getting a sore throat last night too, and since she's more cautious than I am, she's going to the doctor. I'll wait to hear her diagnosis before I do anything. I really think it's just a minor bug; I normally wouldn't even think twice about it, but with a little, vulnerable (and adorable) baby in the house your brain can't help but wander to the worst.
We were feeling well enough to go to S's company holiday party last night. It was a huge scale-back from the one last year, but still alright. Free food and subsidized booze are always good. The music they were playing made me think of Adam Carolla who's always complaining that the music of 22-year old club kids has somehow become the sound track of our lives. It's completely true. Last night for instance, the average age of the people in attendance was probably around 48, and yet the Pitbulls and the Taio Cruzes and the LMFAOs and whatever else shitty electronic/club/dance/remix music the kids are listening to was just blaring through the speakers. Heaven forbid a little jazz is played, or if people want to dance (there was a dance floor), how about some Motown, or some Michael (child molesting aside, he was one hell of a performer), something with a little soul to it that people over 25 might enjoy, instead of that *ootz, ootz, ootz, ootz, poppin', ootz, ootz, ootz, Cristal, ootz, ootz, ootz, money, ootz, ootz, ootz, booties* garbage.
I think what's going on is that bars play this type of music at night to drive away the fogies (who drink less, stay longer, and are decidely lamer than young people), and then it has a domino effect to the point where you're listening to Christina Aguilera at a business function. The other day I walked by this establishment that's on the bottom floor of my office building. During the night it's a quasi-sports bar, during the day it does lunch for business people. I peeked through the window and there were about ten white people in there eating lunch and reading papers or fiddling with their phones. Over the loudspeakers blaring, just absolutely blaring, I mean so loud I could hear it clearly from outside: Ke$ha "Tik Tok". Because, you know, that's exactly what every middle-age, corporate whitey on a lunch break wants to listen to at 500 decibels.
Anyway, in other news, political news, the Republicans are up to their old tricks again, and by "their old tricks", I mean "being complete f**king ignoramuses". Although to be fair, it's tough to say whether they're actually ignoramuses or whether they're just playing to the ignorant public. They might not be dumb, they might be diabolical. (I think the same thing of the talking heads on Fox News. Yeah, they say stupid things, but they get paid a lot to do so. They might not be stupid, just sellouts. Their viewers on the other hand...)
Take Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal for example; in a recent op-ed he warns of the dangers of the impending "fiscal cliff" -- a trigger of massive tax increases, drastic spending cuts, and contractionary debt reduction -- and then he calls for... wait for it... spending cuts and debt reduction! No, seriously, read it (my favorite part is that it's written as if he's the smartest guy in the room, proposing common sense solutions that those Washington bureaucrats could just never go for). Does Jindal really not understand the economics of the fiscal cliff, or is he just using it to scare people who don't follow economics closely into siding with him?
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell pulled off a gem of his own when he filibustered his own proposal. He moved to put a proposal on the debt ceiling (not be confused with the fiscal cliff) to a straight up-and-down vote, and then when majority leader Harry Reid agreed, McConnell said that actually a super majority of 60 votes would be needed, denying the chance for what he had just suggested to go into action. Apparently McConnell thought the Dems wouldn't go for his up-and-down vote, and this would make Obama look bad, because the to-be-voted-on proposal is favored by the White House (presumably McConnell would've gone public saying that not even Senate Dems favored the president's position). Instead his bluff was called, and he embarrassingly had to reveal his two-six off-suit.
Not that this matters that much. Liberals will make fun of him, and the youtube clip will get some views, but his supporters will find a way to rationalize and justify his actions. That's really the "strength" of the Republican party. Blind faith. It doesn't matter how wrong a Republican is, as long as he or she continually hits the key beats on his or her idiotic drum -- low taxes, free market, pro-life, Obama's a socialist, small government, so on and so on -- they'll be supported. Actually being able to think objectively and come to one's own fact-based conclusions isn't necessary, and in fact, it's generally discouraged. Don't take my word for it. Take former Republican operative Bruce Bartlett's. Seriously, read the linked article, it's excellent.
That's all for this week. Until next time...
*One of Appling's notable achievements is hitting a home run in a 1982 exhibition game as a 75-year old man. I was so impressed with this story until I recently found out that the fences were moved way in for the game, and the ball only traveled 250 feet, well within the confines of a typical ballpark. It's still kinda impressive, but it's like me saying I could dunk in junior high, because I could... on an eight-foot hoop.
I also seem to have something (hopefully) minor going on with my ENT system. I have a bit of a sore throat, a bit of a runny nose, and a bit of an earache. I'm slightly paranoid it's strep throat because a friend of mine whom I was in close proximity to last week has strep, but I'm not exhibiting the symptoms of strep, and I was feeling fine for nearly a week after contact, so rationally I really don't think that's it. S started getting a sore throat last night too, and since she's more cautious than I am, she's going to the doctor. I'll wait to hear her diagnosis before I do anything. I really think it's just a minor bug; I normally wouldn't even think twice about it, but with a little, vulnerable (and adorable) baby in the house your brain can't help but wander to the worst.
We were feeling well enough to go to S's company holiday party last night. It was a huge scale-back from the one last year, but still alright. Free food and subsidized booze are always good. The music they were playing made me think of Adam Carolla who's always complaining that the music of 22-year old club kids has somehow become the sound track of our lives. It's completely true. Last night for instance, the average age of the people in attendance was probably around 48, and yet the Pitbulls and the Taio Cruzes and the LMFAOs and whatever else shitty electronic/club/dance/remix music the kids are listening to was just blaring through the speakers. Heaven forbid a little jazz is played, or if people want to dance (there was a dance floor), how about some Motown, or some Michael (child molesting aside, he was one hell of a performer), something with a little soul to it that people over 25 might enjoy, instead of that *ootz, ootz, ootz, ootz, poppin', ootz, ootz, ootz, Cristal, ootz, ootz, ootz, money, ootz, ootz, ootz, booties* garbage.
[Speaking of today's dance music, this is a pretty cool remake.]
I think what's going on is that bars play this type of music at night to drive away the fogies (who drink less, stay longer, and are decidely lamer than young people), and then it has a domino effect to the point where you're listening to Christina Aguilera at a business function. The other day I walked by this establishment that's on the bottom floor of my office building. During the night it's a quasi-sports bar, during the day it does lunch for business people. I peeked through the window and there were about ten white people in there eating lunch and reading papers or fiddling with their phones. Over the loudspeakers blaring, just absolutely blaring, I mean so loud I could hear it clearly from outside: Ke$ha "Tik Tok". Because, you know, that's exactly what every middle-age, corporate whitey on a lunch break wants to listen to at 500 decibels.
Anyway, in other news, political news, the Republicans are up to their old tricks again, and by "their old tricks", I mean "being complete f**king ignoramuses". Although to be fair, it's tough to say whether they're actually ignoramuses or whether they're just playing to the ignorant public. They might not be dumb, they might be diabolical. (I think the same thing of the talking heads on Fox News. Yeah, they say stupid things, but they get paid a lot to do so. They might not be stupid, just sellouts. Their viewers on the other hand...)
Take Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal for example; in a recent op-ed he warns of the dangers of the impending "fiscal cliff" -- a trigger of massive tax increases, drastic spending cuts, and contractionary debt reduction -- and then he calls for... wait for it... spending cuts and debt reduction! No, seriously, read it (my favorite part is that it's written as if he's the smartest guy in the room, proposing common sense solutions that those Washington bureaucrats could just never go for). Does Jindal really not understand the economics of the fiscal cliff, or is he just using it to scare people who don't follow economics closely into siding with him?
[Update: S just texted me from the doctor's saying that she doesn't have "Streep", so it's all good.]
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell pulled off a gem of his own when he filibustered his own proposal. He moved to put a proposal on the debt ceiling (not be confused with the fiscal cliff) to a straight up-and-down vote, and then when majority leader Harry Reid agreed, McConnell said that actually a super majority of 60 votes would be needed, denying the chance for what he had just suggested to go into action. Apparently McConnell thought the Dems wouldn't go for his up-and-down vote, and this would make Obama look bad, because the to-be-voted-on proposal is favored by the White House (presumably McConnell would've gone public saying that not even Senate Dems favored the president's position). Instead his bluff was called, and he embarrassingly had to reveal his two-six off-suit.
Not that this matters that much. Liberals will make fun of him, and the youtube clip will get some views, but his supporters will find a way to rationalize and justify his actions. That's really the "strength" of the Republican party. Blind faith. It doesn't matter how wrong a Republican is, as long as he or she continually hits the key beats on his or her idiotic drum -- low taxes, free market, pro-life, Obama's a socialist, small government, so on and so on -- they'll be supported. Actually being able to think objectively and come to one's own fact-based conclusions isn't necessary, and in fact, it's generally discouraged. Don't take my word for it. Take former Republican operative Bruce Bartlett's. Seriously, read the linked article, it's excellent.
That's all for this week. Until next time...
*One of Appling's notable achievements is hitting a home run in a 1982 exhibition game as a 75-year old man. I was so impressed with this story until I recently found out that the fences were moved way in for the game, and the ball only traveled 250 feet, well within the confines of a typical ballpark. It's still kinda impressive, but it's like me saying I could dunk in junior high, because I could... on an eight-foot hoop.
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