On having one car instead of two

Interesting how little it matters -- until I give it some thought. What is lost is convenience. And convenience has little to do with anything, especially at this time of my life, the last act, when my focus  is on living each day as if it's my last, which soon enough will be accurate; which is to say, get the trivial out of my life, and convenience is mostly trivial. What matters is what's going on in my head, which is not at all affected by how many cars are in the household. And it's a little jarring to realize all the other things in my life that are similar "conveniences." Not that I'm against conveniences. I'm as lazy as the next guy in some regards. But the world didn't end when we became a one car family.

And great things are going in my head today, now that CJ is resurrected and back in action. The Reluctant Suicide will have a similar structure to Sodom, Gomorrah & Jones, built with vignettes. The story takes place in 2015 when the consequences of global warming are beginning to get pretty bad along the coastlines, far ahead of schedule. Some of the vignettes will be blog entries from CJ's several years on the road -- an obituary for America. Others will look at the history of all variations of suicide as CJ weighs his options after learning the medical culture offers no help for a man ready to leave because -- he simply is ready to leave. Hence the reluctant suicide refers to methodology. Which illegal option to choose since there are no legal options? This is CJ's dilemma.

An important new character is a recent love interest of Helen's, who has moved in with her. I think I'll make him a composer working on an opera. He may be an Ayn Rand disciple. He may think CJ is so heroic in his quest that CJ may change his mind. Much in flux, as should be so early in the game. But I like the set up so far ... global warming obviously is beyond stopping now, the country is increasingly in evacuation and panic mode, food shortages, obviously much shit soon to hit the fan -- and CJ simply decides, Enough! why ruin what has been his good life by putting up with this shit? Leave while you still have good memories.

Haven't figured Matt's role but he'll be there. I don't think Kayla will be there. She may be dead, a tragic suicide, to contrast with CJ's context. A loss because young, as opposed to a choice because old.

So this is something of a novel of ideas, the least popular genre in the culture by far ha ha! Fuck the culture.

The new energy is good. Onward.

Same o same o

Historically major power shifts require violent revolutions. Short term progress results. Long term the new power becomes as corrupt as the old. Repeat ad nauseam.

Sensational meal

The cooking adventure yesterday was beef short ribs braised in red wine sauce. Three hrs in a slow oven. With mashed spuds and steamed carrots. Meat fell off the bone. Spectacular and pretty rich.

Comfort food

When I was sick as a kid, my mom fixed me a soft boiled egg on toast, covered with warm milk. I'm sure this informs my adult comfort food, which I just enjoyed. Toast ... milk ... scrapple .... egg. Comfort food rocks.

FDR to Romney!

Of Babies and Beans: Paul Ryan on Abortion : The New Yorker

Of Babies and Beans: Paul Ryan on Abortion : The New Yorker:

 "Paul Ryan did not say, as John Kennedy had said before him, that faith was faith and public service, public service, each to be honored and kept separate from the other. No, he said instead “I don’t see how a person can separate their public life from their private life or from their faith. Our faith informs us in everything we do.” That’s a shocking answer—a mullah’s answer, what those scary Iranian “Ayatollahs” he kept referring to when talking about Iran would say as well. Ryan was rejecting secularism itself, casually insisting, as the Roman Catholic Andrew Sullivan put it, that “the usual necessary distinction between politics and religion, between state and church, cannot and should not exist.” And he went on to make it quietly plain that his principles are uncompromising on this, even if his boss’s policy may not seem so:"

Gary Hart: We Have Been Warned

Gary Hart: We Have Been Warned:

"Several senators introduced the Cyber Security Act of 2012 to create a government-corporate partnership to protect the critical infrastructure, virtually all of which is in private, corporate ownership, from attack. It passed by a majority but was not filibuster-proof because of Republican opposition. How can this be?

It can be because, at the behest of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Senator John McCain, a reputed national security expert, led opposition to the measure. He and the Chamber argued that it imposed too many burdens on business."

George Lakoff: Moral Leadership: What Obama Has to Show Tomorrow in the Debate Performance, and for Real

George Lakoff: Moral Leadership: What Obama Has to Show Tomorrow in the Debate Performance, and for Real:

"Mr. President, this is a grand performance that means something; it is much more than a policy debate where most people won't understand or remember the fine details of the policies. We need you to show America what real moral leadership is."

Every journey begins with ...

I wrote the opening pages of the new CJ story, The Reluctant Suicide. Man, I love that title. Exactly expresses the failure of the culture to deal with aging.

So I'm off and running! The Thoreau project is next. Maybe I'm getting back in my groove again.

Professional Distance and Protecting the Reader Experience

Professional Distance and Protecting the Reader Experience

This raises an impotant issue.

Debate

Not even sure I'll watch debate tomorrow. The Prez is such a wimp it will be too depressing. I can't imagine him delivering the kind of moral outrage of an FDR that is demanded. Clinton could. Pretty boy Romney will get away with the same old shit. O will just stand there being nice.

Second wind

Found enough energy to get student work online. Set for Tues. No stress left in weekend. Now to watch baseball.

Brick wall

I seem to be out of energy. The cooking project is under control but that's it. I need to get a second wind or rethink my Sunday activity. Much I can do tomorrow. But I should do something else today.

Today's adventure

Front and center is a cooking adventure, using a recipe I found on a food blog. A seven hour job. I love it. Fills the hours, as Virginia Woolf would say.

I did all my student reading yesterday. Need to get some of it online.

Read half the book I'm reviewing. Finish and draft the short review.

Want to finish the required stuff today so I can play a little tomorrow.

Treating food like stocks and shares is a recipe for disaster | Business | The Observer

Treating food like stocks and shares is a recipe for disaster | Business | The Observer:

Which the corporate elites will embrace.

UN warns of looming worldwide food crisis in 2013 | Global development | The Observer

UN warns of looming worldwide food crisis in 2013 | Global development | The Observer:

Laura Doyle: 6 Reasons Marriage Counseling is BS

Laura Doyle: 6 Reasons Marriage Counseling is BS:

Hear, hear! I'm sure glad a woman wrote this ha ha. The New Age intellectuals would have dismissed a man outright with their favorite defense: Denial!

Ex-Mariners to the rescue

Another extraordinary baseball game as the Tigers and Yankees opened the ALCS. Yankees down four zip in bottom of ninth, looks like a done deal. Then ex-Mariner Ichiro hits a 2 run homer! And a few batters later ex-Mariner Ibanez repeats earlier heroics and hits a 2 run homer! Into extra innings (Yankees lose in 13).

Baseball is really putting on a show.

UCLA at the half

Bruins lead by a TD but I'm not impressed. They did two of the dumbest deeds I've seen on a football field. First ... attempted over the shoulder catch inside the five of a punt. Fumble and Utah TD. Second ... going for it on fourth down ... called for delay of game - after a time out! Amazing.

Sports commentators

I watch a lot of sports on TV with the sound muted. That's because I can't stand the commentary. Any jerk with an opinion, who can't get a radio talk show, becomes a sports announcer. Many are ex jocks.

I liked Joey Harrington when he was Oregon's QB. He played jazz piano. Pretty cool. But he was overrated and wasn't great as a pro. Today - what else? - he's a sports commentator and he just sucks. He should go back to piano.

UCLA kickoff soon. Nervous. Only a big win will satisfy the mean-spirited alumni, who show no mercy and have little patience.

Baseball rules II

Playoff games have been extraordinary for competitive drama. Last night a case in point. The home team Nationals had a six run lead over the Cardinals and the fans were loving it. As they should. This is a franchise without a legacy of success.

Hometown fans are the soundtrack of sporting events. As the Cards began a slow comeback the music changed but even in the ninth the victory felt at hand.

And so the veteran Cards scored four and won by two. Major emotional crash by the fans. And i crashed with them and marveled at baseball's slow power to consume. As I once wrote years ago, it's the last slow dance in America.

Smokin' Joe Delights Democrats and Shows up the Boss Against Ryan : The New Yorker

Malarkey!

Smokin' Joe Delights Democrats and Shows up the Boss Against Ryan : The New Yorker:

But the night belonged to Smokin’ Joe, who came out strong and kept slugging as long as his legs would support him. In a way, he’d been preparing for this since 1988, when his first Presidential campaign was derailed by allegations of plagiarism. Biden was just forty-five then, a rising star in the Democratic Party noted for his speaking skills, his bonhomie, and his populist politics. An elder statesman now, he retains all of these attributes. I said before the debate that he was an underrated politician. Last night, he demonstrated why that’s true. The guy in the Oval Office owes him more than a phone call.
 

In the zone

My copies of Varmints arrived and it looks great. This is one of those works, a small minority in my archive, that feels a bit mysterious to me, as if I wrote it while in a magical zone, a process more mysterious than my usual work pattern. As esoteric as it is, I dig it a lot.

Few people

Few people

Einstein hits the mark.

Wash. Could Become First State to OK Pot Sales - ABC News

Wash. Could Become First State to OK Pot Sales - ABC News:

Most folks don't realize that Washington is much more progressive than Oregon. This legacy goes back to the territorial days when free blacks coming west would learn quickly that the Oregon Territory was much more racist than Washington Territory. Only in the latter could blacks own land. Indeed, as late as the 1920's an Oregon election was heavily influenced by the Klan.

A screenwriting technique

A graduate student of mine has embraced the note card / cork board method for outlining a film story. It's a technique that works well for writers whose methodology involves pre-writing planning, which I call "tree people" (as opposed to "forest people", who are sink-or-swim writers, of which there are many, figuring things out on the run). She sent me this image of her work in progress. I love it.

ESPN college football guru Beano Cook dead at 81 - Football - Boston.com

ESPN college football guru Beano Cook dead at 81 - Football - Boston.com:

Always enjoyed this guy. Old school and funny.

The arrogant bicyclist

Portland is a big town for bicycles, so it's not surprising there are a few arrogant riders around. Met up with one on the bus to the university this morning. Taking up a narrow road just ahead of our bus, refusing to pull over to the shoulder when it was available so the bus could pass. At a stop sign, instead of pulling over so the bus could come alongside and pass, the rider when through without stopping. Reminded me of a rider who ran a red light so that I almost hit him, then gave me the finger for following traffic rules! Some of these riders embrace such green moral superiority that they believe the rules don't apply to them.

In time, the guy turned off and we could continue on our way.

Baseball rules

More ninth inning magic ... Oakland comes back to beat Detroit and tie series. More excitement tonight than I saw in football recently.

What? A deadline?

I once made my living as a frfeelance writer, hard and stressful work indeed, but it's been years since I had a magazine deadline. Oregon Mag talked me into reviewing a book and I need to do it this weekend. Maybe I need to turn offers down ha ha. Too mellow for deadlines.

No hero like an ex-Mariner

The Mariners have a long history of trading away players who go on to do great things. Tonight's example is Raul Ibanez. He pinch hits in bottom of ninth ... Yankees behind a run. His homer sends it to extra innings. Up again in bottom of twelfth ... still tied. Home run! Yankees win. Impressive.

Success story

Just watched Oregon Experience documentary on Oregon wine industry. Great story of young entrepreneurs with Big Dreams giving years of dedication and poverty to make their dreams come true.

I am proud to have directed the most comprehensive look at Oregon wineries ever published at the time when I was managing editor of Oregon Business magazine in the eighties. Had the idea but took some time to find the right writer. Then she walked into the office one day, a freelance writer from Calif whose husband was a winemaker. She did a great job and later had a syndicated wine column. One of my best memories from that job.

Nostalgia

In these days of ideological warfare, how envious to recall my parents' generation when political affiliation was like religious affiliation: nobody's damn business! "I wonder if the Smiths are Democrats?" mom would wonder about new friends. My parents would never be so rude as to ask. Unthinkable today. My dad would scoff at anyone, and they were few indeed, who would display a political sign. "Who is he trying to convince?" Those times I recall as a kid couldn't be more different. I think we lost considerable civility.

The 7-inch tablet advantage

The 7-inch tablet advantage

I can go even smaller. I love the size and weight of Kindle. If this were a powerful computer....

Daily Kos: Red State Rebellion- Joe Biden’s Wi Fi ing Debate Smackdown

Daily Kos: Red State Rebellion- Joe Biden’s Wi Fi ing Debate Smackdown:

"“Joe Biden’s Wi Fi ing Debate Smackdown” is going to try competitive, online fact checking in real time.  We’ll keep score."

The upcoming debates can get real interesting with organized real time fact checking in cyberspace. Of course, next step is counter-fact checking by "the other side" ... it will still be a mess.

The President has to win his own victory. Face to face, He has to walk the talk. He does so little of it.

David Siegel Email To Workers Threatens Layoffs If Obama Is Reelected (UPDATE)

David Siegel Email To Workers Threatens Layoffs If Obama Is Reelected (UPDATE):

Class war? What class war?

Two brilliant American short stories

Gilbert Sorrentino

Here is the ending of my favorite American short story, "The Moon In Its Flight" by Gilbert Sorrentino, a story about young love. The protagonist, now a married man years after the central action, has returned from a hotel rendezvous with his high school sweetheart, a love never consummated in youth.

“You are perfectly justified in scoffing at the outrageous transparency of it if I tell you that his wife said that he was so pale that he looked as if he had seen a ghost, but that is, indeed, what she said. Art cannot rescue anybody from anything.” 
― Gilbert Sorrentino, The Moon in Its Flight

Robert Coover

Man, this story, along with Robert Coover's recent New Yorker story "Going For A Beer" (read it online!!), are such major literary accomplishments that I stand in complete awe of the achievements. Both take "risks" with conventional form and get the pay off of making them work. Amazing stories!

Romney v. Romney

Somebody had to do it.

There's hope, o ye "poor" science students!

News from The Associated Press: "LONDON (AP) -- Teacher knows best?

That doesn't appear to be the case for one teacher who called a future Nobel Prize winner's dreams of becoming a scientist "quite ridiculous" in a scathing report card."

The Evolutionary Advantage of Depression - Brian Gabriel - The Atlantic

The Evolutionary Advantage of Depression - Brian Gabriel - The Atlantic:

"Genes influencing depression also bolstered our ancestors' immune systems -- an understanding that's informing experimental therapies. "

Physicists extend special relativity beyond the speed of light

Physicists extend special relativity beyond the speed of light:

"Now two physicists – James Hill and Barry Cox from the University of Adelaide in Australia – have shown that Einstein's theory of special relativity can be logically extended to allow for faster-than-light motion. They're quick to point out that their finding in no way contradicts the original theory, but simply provides a new aspect of it."

Free program makes computer graphics more realistic

Free program makes computer graphics more realistic:

Things Mainstream Reporters Can't Say: Mitt Romney Is Lying About The Environmental Protection Agency | ThinkProgress

Things Mainstream Reporters Can't Say: Mitt Romney Is Lying About The Environmental Protection Agency | ThinkProgress:

 "Mitt Romney is choosing to lie about the Environmental Protection Agency because he thinks that will give him a political advantage."

Bring on the digital overthrow of publishing

Bring on the digital overthrow of publishing

Brooding about CJ

I left him in his van in Helen's driveway at 3 a.m. He wants my attention.
*
Still tired. Maybe back to bed.
*
Beautiful sky earlier this morning. Huge southeastern triangle of the moon, Jupiter and Sirius. Nature loves geometry.
*
Not into school morning rhythm yet. Like now. To school early or back to bed?
*
Patience, CJ.

Movie at noon

Went to Bridgeport Village, a Disneyland for adult consumers, and saw The Master. I was disappointed. Great performances. Dull predictable narrative. Then a nice lunch until I put my foot in my mouth and ruined the mood. I'm still working on shutting up most of the time ha ha.

Your right to resell your own stuff is in peril

Your right to resell your own stuff is in peril

Serious indeed.

The Ungreat Debate : The New Yorker

The Ungreat Debate : The New Yorker:

What Kind Of Energy Journalism Do We Need? | ThinkProgress

What Kind Of Energy Journalism Do We Need? | ThinkProgress:

Columbus Day

"Columbus Day. "October 12. The Discovery. It was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it."

Puddn'head Wilson by Mark Twain. 

Round Bend Press: Publishing Day/Charles Deemer

Round Bend Press: Publishing Day/Charles Deemer:

Varmints in paperback.

Varmints for Kindle.









Here's something curious and personal: I feel pride in this work all out of proportion to its interest to  anyone else. I hear a vague music when I read it and feel in my gut that this can become a fine opera with the right music. I've done my job as librettist, a very decent job indeed. Moreover, this is a dark and important work about American history. Ah, such are the delusions of a writer with a healthy ego! Yet I'm quite serious.

What I hope happens is that a young ambitious hungry composer at Portland State or somewhere else sees this, is curious enough to read it, digs it, and writes dynamite music for it. I also hope I'm alive to see this, which probably is asking for too much. The gods owe me nothing. They've already delivered quite in excess of all expectations.

Honeymoon over

Bruins Nation and other UCLA alumni fanatics are no longer happy with Coach Mora. It may be a long frosty rest of season. Patience not a strong suit after so many years of football mediocrity.

Mark Ellen: how Kerouac changed my life | Film | The Observer

Mark Ellen: how Kerouac changed my life | Film | The Observer:

"The film of On the Road opens in cinemas on 12 October. Inspired by Kerouac's legendary account of his journeys of self-discovery, Mark Ellen dropped out and hitchhiked across America. Here he pays homage to the book's enduring legacy"

I'm not expecting much from the film.

BB King at 87: the last of the great bluesmen | Music | The Observer

BB King at 87: the last of the great bluesmen | Music | The Observer:

Newspaper journalism is in crisis. What has been lost and what can be saved? | Media | The Observer

Newspaper journalism is in crisis. What has been lost and what can be saved? | Media | The Observer:

Has a disillusioned Barack Obama lost the will to win? | | Henry Porter | | The Observer

Has a disillusioned Barack Obama lost the will to win? | | Henry Porter | Comment is free | The Observer:

Kindle cleaning

Spent some time deleting sample chapters downloaded in recent months. They grow like weeds. Reminds me of how much there is to read and so liitle time for reading. And I seldom do escape reading. And more non-fiction than fiction.

Two and ten

When is the last time both Oregon football teams were in the top ten? The new AP poll has Oregon holding at two and Ore State climbing to ten. If this holds the Civil War will be special.

UCLA disaster

QB sacked 5 times, 4 interceptions incl 3 in the red zone, plus a fumble in the red zone. Let's not score, let's give the ball away! Terrible game for them, great for Cal. Such is life.

Play by play

Great upsets today ... 3, 4, and 5 teams lose ... bad first half for UCLA with two turnovers in red zone ... Oregon rocking ... found Kindle friendly play by play in real time site ... I'm set ...

Overtime

Both games I watched so far today went to overtime. Navy over Air Force. And Stanford, down 14 in 4Q, over Arizona.

Read exciting draft of script for student video.

The librettist and the screenwriter

Being a librettist is a lot like being a screenwriter and neither is much like being a playwright. The librettist, like the screenwriter but unlike the playwright, knows going in that his project depends on the creative talents of others who will end up with more creative control over the project. A libretto is nothing without a composer, and in the end the music will make or break the project. The composer is like the director of a film. And although the playwright also has collaborators, the vision of the playwright wins out. The playwright retains artistic control (which is why directors prefer dead playwrights!). It's the stage director's job to realize the playwright's vision, not subordinate the material to his own vision. That's the theory and legal rules anyway. Again, stage directors love adding their own visions, which is why they like dead playwrights.

American Newspapers Give Far More Coverage To Climate Deniers And Skeptics Than Other Countries | ThinkProgress

American Newspapers Give Far More Coverage To Climate Deniers And Skeptics Than Other Countries | ThinkProgress:

Yet another example of depressing American exceptionalism.

Paul Broun: Evolution, Big Bang 'Lies Straight From The Pit Of Hell'

Paul Broun: Evolution, Big Bang 'Lies Straight From The Pit Of Hell':

Meet your House Science Committee. This belongs in a political satire, not actual American politics. American exceptionalism, and embarrassing at that.

Strawberry Canyon

Bruins go to the canyon to play Cal where they havent won in 14 years.

Berkeley's Strawberry Canyon. Football stadium and Cyclotron. And my home in July 1959.

I'd been living in a dilapidated loft above an old barn for $15 a month split three ways. True! But my roommates had left to fish in Alaska for the summer. I had no income save what I cd get playing folk music on the street or stealing and reselling science books. Shameful.

Strawberry Canyon with Cyclotron in bg

Then the loft got condemned as a fire hazard. I was homeless. So I built a lean-to in S Canyon and camped out. I hitched into Oakland to talk to military recruiters and get a free meal ticket. A daily routine during the week.

Finally gave in and joined Army in Aug. Recruiter put me in Army Security Agency and I became a Cold War spy and Russian linguist.

Hence my fondness for Strawberry Canyon.

...written on Kindle...pardon typos

Coming soon

Waiting for The Guardian

The G gets delivered to my Kindle between 530 and 545 ... killing time ... still glowing over headstart in weekend prep yesterday ... makes rest of break much easier ... excited about libretto being published, though it is hardly an event of interest to anyone else. The heart of this work is so much the theme in most of my work. And I can hear its music in a kind of unshaped Weillian fantasy. ... Hope a composer finds it. ... I feel so blessed ... strange since I also see planetary disaster ahead ... I wonder if R victory might wake up folks sooner ... what short of massive street action can change direction ... real revolution ... a time in history ... the Chinese curse strikes again ... time to get my paper.

Full day

Much grunt prep work today for classes next week. Big jump on it. Feels good.

Some great games tomorrow.

Politics gets madder every day. We're becoming collectively pathetic. A world embarrassment.

I think I have my first sentence ... It was almost 3 a.m. when CJ pulled into Helen's driveway.

Varmints coming out next week.

Brooding about CJ

I may be getting close to starting The Reluctant Suicide. At any rate, I'm brooding about CJ, going over possible first paragraphs in my mind. I feel close.

In the meantime, no genuine work on Thoreau project yet. Bad on me.

Climate (a poem)

Listen to the poem.

The Biggest (And Least Discussed) Lie Of The Debate? Romney's False Claim About Clean Energy Bankruptcies | ThinkProgress

The Biggest (And Least Discussed) Lie Of The Debate? Romney's False Claim About Clean Energy Bankruptcies | ThinkProgress:

Daily Kos: Obama: 'When I got on the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney'

Daily Kos: Obama: 'When I got on the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney':

Fighting back begins. Why didn't he say these things last night!? I suppose, (too) good guy that he is, he was taken aback by the lying. Dumb mistake not to be repeated.

Quotation of the day

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life:  It goes on. 

~Robert Frost

Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown being overshadowed? - CBS News

Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown being overshadowed? - CBS News:

Yep.

The triumph of style over substance - The Maddow Blog

The triumph of style over substance - The Maddow Blog:

"But as Romney and his supporters take a victory lap this morning, it's fair to note their success was a triumph for style over substance."

What the hell do you think American politics is about in the first place? How long has it been since we've had a statesman from a major party? We've got Bernie Sanders, an Independent. Where is the moral outrage of a Wayne Morse among the Democrats or Republicans?

Liberals are saying, Yeah, Romney won but he lied. So fucking what!? If you came to the debate cold, as most do, who would know? Unless the Democrats get off their idealistic asses, and play hard ball, they are done.

Seven Chances Obama Missed : The New Yorker

Seven Chances Obama Missed : The New Yorker:

Tip of the rapidly melting iceberg!

Regrets

I voted for Obama. I should have voted for Clinton. She has balls and never would have let Romney get away with his BS last night. Two more debates like this and it's over. Maybe it already is.

Over at DKos some delusional liberal thinks O lost on purpose to inspire his base to work harder.

O needs to listen to Bobby K ... kick him in the balls. This is politics, not a university classroom.

Andrew Sullivan on the debate

Obama looked tired, even bored; he kept looking down; he had no crisp statements of passion or argument; he wasn't there. He was entirely defensive, which may have been the strategy. But it was the wrong strategy. At the wrong moment.

The person with authority on that stage was Romney - offered it by one of the lamest moderators ever, and seized with relish. This was Romney the salesman. And my gut tells me he sold a few voters on a change tonight. It's beyond depressing. But it's true.

He nails it.

Tigers' Cabrera wins 1st Triple Crown in 45 years - Yahoo! News

Tigers' Cabrera wins 1st Triple Crown in 45 years - Yahoo! News:

Fantastic! Now let's find a horse to do it ...

The Climate Silence Continues: Lehrer, Obama, And Romney Ignore Climate Change In First Debate | ThinkProgress

The Climate Silence Continues: Lehrer, Obama, And Romney Ignore Climate Change In First Debate | ThinkProgress:

Appalling.

Daily Kos: A Complete Disaster for Romney

Daily Kos: A Complete Disaster for Romney:

"Thinking over my initial impressions of the debate, all I can see is Romney being a rude, lying, prick. Obama was all class and reserve.I find the latter to be a more presidential demeanor. I think Romney's combative stance (and I'll give him some points for passion) made him look more like a bully than a winner. I just don't see how all of his lies will withstand the light of day for the rest of the week."

The eternal optimism of progressives. I hope they're right. I fear that lies don't matter, it's about impressions and Romney showed more heart tonight.

CNN Poll: Most watchers say Romney debate winner – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

CNN Poll: Most watchers say Romney debate winner – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs:

"Denver, Colorado (CNN) – Two-thirds of people who watched the first presidential debate think that Republican nominee Mitt Romney won the showdown, according to a nationwide poll conducted Wednesday night."

Obama was his measured, wimpy timid self, alas. Bobby K told JFK before the debate with Nixon, "Kick him in the balls." O needed similar advice. He blew it.

UNLESS he's playing rope-a-dope and puts Romney's many "changes/lies" in an ad, juxtaposed with opposite policy contentions on the campaign trail. Hmm.

Ho hum

Must be a masochist because I'll be checking out the debate.

Brooding about CJ. Maybe scribble soon. Maybe not. Feel in writing limbo. All energy going to teaching.

Need to get Varmints ready for publication. Grunt work.

Morris Berman is brilliant. Give him a McA grant. Me too ha ha.

Baseball playoff time. No favs. However hope we have first triple crown winner in ages ... know later today.

Thank the gods for teaching. My major engagement at the moment.

Joseph Stiglitz: 'The American Dream Has Become A Myth'

Joseph Stiglitz: 'The American Dream Has Become A Myth':

Whatever Happened to Movies for Grownups? : The New Yorker

Whatever Happened to Movies for Grownups? : The New Yorker:

"The six major studios want to make three kinds of movies. They want to make blockbusters costing a hundred and fifty million dollars and up (with another fifty to a hundred million dollars spent on promotion)—that is, films that are based on comic books, video games, and young-adult novels. These movies mostly feature angry pixels contending in the dead air—action sequences of total physical abandonment and virtually total meaninglessness, in which nothing imprints itself on your memory except the experience of being excited. They want to make animated features for families, some of which—especially the ones from Pixar—are very good. And they want to make genre movies—thrillers, chick flicks, romantic comedies, weekend-debauch movies (female as well as male), horror movies. Movies that have a mostly assured audience. "

Great idea, poorly managed

Playboy's plan to release 50 interviews in Kindle format, one a day for 50 days, was exciting. But then they dropped the ball. They didn't release anything on the weekend. OK, make it fifty work days. But now there is no new interview today. The guy in charge is sick or what? The dramatic anticipation is ruined. Nice to have the interviews but the event itself is a bust.

The Associated Press: Education chief wants textbooks to go digital

The Associated Press: Education chief wants textbooks to go digital:

""Over the next few years, textbooks should be obsolete," he declared."

Mora pleased with UCLA's maturity, growth - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN

Mora pleased with UCLA's maturity, growth - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN:

Quantum causal relations: A causes B causes A

Quantum causal relations: A causes B causes A:

"...in quantum mechanics it is possible to conceive situations in which a single event can be both, a cause and an effect of another one."

Farmer eaten by his own hogs – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

Farmer eaten by his own hogs – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs:

"“Those animals were his life,” Garner told the Register-Guard."

Happened in Oregon. Man.

Quotation of the day

Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.

~Mark Twain

Seven Deadly American Sins | Common Dreams

Seven Deadly American Sins | Common Dreams:

Banned Books Week: Top 10 Most Challenged Titles Of The Year (INFOGRAPHIC)

Banned Books Week: Top 10 Most Challenged Titles Of The Year (INFOGRAPHIC):

Natural processes

Yes, it's great to have a pacemaker and renewed energy. Yes, it will be terrific if knee surgery gives H pain-free and better mobility. Yes, the miracles of medicine are, well, miraculous.

But something is missing from this equation. Where is an appreciation for old age? Where is an appreciation for death? That's right, an appreciation for death. Where is an understanding of natural processes, of which aging and death are parts? Our miracles taste like excuses to avoid facing reality.

Manipulating natural processes, of course, is the American way. And in the past it's always surprised us with unexpected and unanticipated consequences. Hence global warming. Indeed one might say this is our species' fatal flaw, an arrogant determination to make Nature better than we found it. But Nature always gets the last word.

Instead of all this energy directed at trying to recapture youth, how about an appreciation of aging and dying as natural phenomena with special, indeed admirable, qualities?

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Re-reading Dark Ages America by Morris Berman. No one has nailed the culture's realities today better than Berman, here and in the earlier The Twilight of American Culture.

The truth is no less true because it is depressing, and to ignore or suppress it because it may not make one happy is the behavior of fools. This book was written for those individuals, American or not, who are more interested in reality than illusion, more committed to understanding America as it is than in being comforted by a fantasy of what it is, or of what it might supposedly become.

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Come January, I'll have been blogging for ten years. How time flies etc.

Mitt Romney’s Leniency Toward Corporate Welfare Queens : The New Yorker

Mitt Romney’s Leniency Toward Corporate Welfare Queens : The New Yorker:

Bionic woman

H has decided on knee replacement surgery, both knees. On a waiting list. Likely begin in spring. Major ordeal taking almost a year.

Not sure I'd do it. Probably get a chance to find out soon enough.

What screenwriting teachers are for

Nice note from a grad student I'm working with ... said light bulb just turned on ... thanked me for "food for thought" I'd sent re her developing story ... hey that's my job.

Varmints libretto gets published this month. Weekend project.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Tennessee Williams's southern discomfort | Stage | The Guardian

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Tennessee Williams's southern discomfort | Stage | The Guardian:

"The American playwright's masterpiece, an explosive story of sexual repression, has suffered at the hands of directors and censors"

Busy day

A full day in and out ... deck chores ... half a screenplay from an advanced student to evaluate ... tired me out. At this early hour trying to stay awake.

Surprise phone call from old friend and writer ... now ninety and blind but still writing and listening to audio books like crazy. Will try and make her a CD of my book of poems.

Glad tomorrow is not Tues. Need a day of rest.

Green Chevy gets towed tomorrow. Makes it official. Sad. Was a fine car.