O man, take care!
What does the deep midnight declare?
“I was asleep—
From a deep dream I woke and swear:—
The world is deep,
Deeper than day had been aware.
Deep is its woe—
Joy—deeper yet than agony:
Woe implores: Go!
But all joy wants eternity—
Wants deep, wants deep eternity.
It’s Later Than You (I) Think
Driving through the parking lot at Irvine Marketplace, I slow down to let an old man walk across in front of me. Hurry it up you elderly bastard!
As I get a closer look, I recognize him as a former college classmate. Which means he’s the same age as me.
He is fatter and balder than I am though, so at least I’ve got that going for me.
Who Says Creativity is Dead in Tinseltown?
“Summer 2015 will see at least 18 sequels, prequels, reboots, spinoffs and adaptations of TV shows and video games . . .”
The rest of the Summer 2015 movies will be sequels, prequels, reboots, spinoffs and adaptations of other movies and comic books.
On This Day
On July 19, 1980, the Summer Olympics began in Moscow with dozens of nations boycotting because of Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.
Thirty-five years later, there’s still a war going on in Afghanistan, so you can see what a shrewd foreign policy move that was.
Prescience
Unexpected rain in July makes my decision not to wash my car since last year look eerily prescient.
Pain in the Neck
I started going to physical therapy for neck pain . . .
“What kind of work do you do?” the therapist asks.
“Software development.”
“Do you sit a lot during the day?”
“Yes.”
“At a desk?”
“Yes.”
“Show me how you sit at the desk.”
“I turn sideways like this in the chair and lean on the armrest, then I kind of scrunch over and stare at a computer screen.”
“Oooh, that’s not good. You shouldn’t do that.”
“I know. But I get paid to do it and I don’t know how to do anything else.”
Greece is Going Out of Business
I remember the good old days when we only had to worry about small banks going out of business. Then big banks started to go out of business, then non-bank financial institutions, and now small countries.
The problem with having a lot of debt is that, with some exceptions (“too big to fail”), bad things happen when your investors get nervous.
My memory is not photographic as some of the legends about me say, but I am sure I would remember if the works of Adam Smith included the phrase “too big to fail.” — Garry Kasparov
What are the odds that people running companies or countries will make smart decisions about money if they don’t need to make smart decisions — if they can do just as well or better making dumb decisions and being rescued from the consequences?
According to the government debt chart below, the next countries in line for a day of reckoning are two more small countries (Ireland, Portugal) and a medium-sized country (Italy). Further down the chart are two big countries.
The United States, the biggest of the big, is not shown on the chart but is currently at 100 percent debt to GDP.
Lose the Pastels and the Mopey Attitude
- Americans love gay people. Since this photo has been posted, it has 60,000 shares, 60,000 comments (including presidential candidates) and 640,000 (that’s six hundred and forty thousand) likes. In the short time since the Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling there’s been a national competition to see who can demonstrate the most elation about it. (OK, if you’re gay, a few bad apples will dislike you based on that alone but that’s true if you’re identifiable as a member of any group, which we all are.)
- I’m afraid about the future. I’m afraid people won’t like me. Leave out the part about being homosexual and you could post a picture of anyone. The percentage of Americans who can’t get through the day without medication — I’m including self-medication via alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, food, etc. — is a lot closer to 100 than it is to zero. Nobody’s life is a fairy tale, kid.
- How old is this boy? He looks about 10. Is he really old enough to have fully sussed out his own sexuality? Maybe he is but it seems far from certain.
- Find some role models, like Ellen and that Doogie Howser kid. Lose the pastels and the mopey attitude. Dress like a man and keep it peppy.
To become different from what we are, we must have some awareness of what we are. — Eric Hoffer
So many of us are sitting on the sidelines…waiting for the invitation that’s not on the way. — Leslie Stein
Flight Crews Shutting Off Working Engines: Another Reason I Prefer to Just Stay Home
Women’s World Cup: USA 5, Japan 2
I turned on the TV just as the announcer was shouting “2-0, USA!” so I thought they must be showing highlights of the game against Germany. It’s only 4:06 p.m., the match probably hasn’t even started yet.
Then I sent a text to my kid, “This will teach me to tune in to soccer games on time.” I sent a second text saying I thought when the announcer yelled “2-0, USA!” they must be showing Germany highlights.
Then I sent a third text, “My god in the time it took me to type that they scored two more goals.
The Perfect Summer Beverage
What’s better on a hot day than ice-cold lemonade? Rum and coke? Yes, but I can’t drink that at work. I need to start working from home in the summer months . . .
Aside
Reality is a sober adversary.
Women’s World Cup: Why the US Will Beat Germany
A recurring theme in world history is the United States dick-slapping Germany: World War I, World War II, “Tear down this wall!” … maybe that’s not the most appropriate metaphor for a women’s soccer match but we’ve been winners all our lives.
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
Love Conquers All . . .
. . . including pleasure, peace, common sense, liberty and self-determination.
Still Life with Pug
Lacking Presentation
If You Love It So Much, Why Don’t You Marry It?
Men and women can marry each other, men can marry men, women can marry women . . . someday it will be legal to marry the sound of your own voice because some people are really in love with the sound of their own voice.
Always “Ass…”
Have you ever noticed in your inbox or browser tabs how the word “Association” always gets truncated to “Ass…”? Never “As…” or “Asso…,” always “Ass…”
