About Friends

    What are friends for? Normally one would think that friends are people you share your personal concerns with, that friends are people  you share your successes and personal disappointments with, that friends are people you socialize with. In this day of social networks; however, friends are people who patronize Facebook. Facebook urges us to accumulate hundreds of " friends". In fact the cliche, 'a friend of yours is a friend of mine' could very well be Facebook's motto. I dare say that many of the "friends" accumulated on Facebook are fair weather friends. I don't mean to make a big deal of Facebook 'friends'. After all , what's a little hypocrisy among friends.
    As an aside, although I would have liked to have seen a stronger response from the United Sates on the side of the protestors in Egypt , I'm sure Mubarak used the friend card with Obama - what are friends for! If he did , I'm sure he didn't do it thru Facebook - he's not a fan.

Read my lips

   Passing a group of women engaged in conversation , I heard the words, "Do you see what I'm saying?". I had to pause and reflect on what I had heard. The first thought I had was that she was obviously talking to a friend who was a lip reader. If so, why didn't she say, " read my lips", it would have been less confusing. Then I speculated that if  I stood there long enough I probably would hear her interjecting " do you see what I'm saying" several times during her conversation. The absurd thought popped into my mind that the phrase being part of her speech, she probably would use it while talking to a blind person.
   Being careful to insure that everyone is hanging on to every word we say is not limited to casual conversations. How many times does Obama say, "let me clear" during a speech or news conference.
   Actually, we all probably repeatedly use some sort of superfluous phrase during our conversations. You know what I'm talking about?

The State of The Union

As for Obama's State of The Union address I have to agree with Paul Krugman' s blog post. As Krugman concluded:

 "We care about the future! But we don’t want to spend!"


There was much cheer leading last night but no trip ticket. After consulting AAA, the speech writers must have decided that it was to risky to take the trip. Probably because the road is full of potholes and there is no money to repair them!

It's going to be a rough ride the next two years. My personal opinion is that Obama's pleas for bipartisanship are falling on deaf ears. Let's hope that the partisanship which will inevitably prevail does not take us over the cliff.

I do need to make provisions for an electric car charger in my garage. Obama said I'd need one by 2015 .

Can Obama really keep his pledge to veto any bill with earmarks? I doubt it. Earmarks are what get Congressmen elected.

As for the Republican response, I still can't swallow the tea being served to the G.O.P. by The Tea Party.

Amend the Second Amendment?

The following appeared this morning in The Plain Dealer feature called Monday Moaning. No commenter's name appeared, but whoever wrote this provided a plateful of food for thought .

"I'm tired of hear about Second Amendment rights. I'm tired of politicians cowering at an NRA low rating. What does that mean anyway? Nothing. Your right to bear arms is not inalienable, not a human or civil right. It's was a necessity for that time. It's an Amendment like the 18th, Prohibition, which was a good idea at the time that created bad consequences and was quickly repealed by another amendment that made more sense. The same can be said for the Second Amendment. It was necessary and a good idea in 16th century proto-America. No one, even liberals, wants it repealed, just amended to reflect 21st century America."
-- Cleveland

Step right up and see the tattooed man!

As a child, the circus coming to town was a big event, rivaling the rock 'n roll concerts of today. Many of us did not have the price of admission to the big tent and we had to be satisfied with the sideshow which featured attractions like the Fat Lady, the Fire Eater, the Snake Charmer, the Bearded Lady and of course the Tattooed Man. While doing some mall walking the other day, it occurred to me that some of the people normally found in the old circus sideshows were parading around in the mall. I didn't see any Fire Eaters other than the few individuals breathing fire while talking to a customer service rep.   The dudes putting the make on some comely young ladies could qualify as Snake Charmers. There was no question about the presence of the Fat Lady - she was everywhere ( the Fat Man also for that matter)! The character that rivaled the presence of the Fat Lady was the Tattooed Man. He actually outnumbered all the walkers - as did the Tattooed Woman. Most of the tattooed individuals looked normal in every way except for their skin. I don't understand why anyone wants to make themselves a walking bill board. We used to call the sideshow performers freaks. Applying that term to the sideshow equivalents one sees in the mall would not be politically correct but it's apropos. I didn't see any bearded ladies during my walk unless I can count the individual that I'm sure was a transvestite. The more I walked, the more I classified everyone as some sort of freak. I brought my walk to a halt and headed home when I realized all of the freaks were looking at me as though I was a freak. After I got home, I realized why. Does anyone walking around with his fly unzipped qualify as a freak? Serves me right, it's about time I got into the twenty -first century. Just where should I put that tattoo?

So much for national unity

I understand that Obama will press a centrist agenda in his State of The Union address. Good old Obama thinks that  unity and renewal should be the nation's buzz words. Apparently the New Hampshire G.O.P. will take his message to heart - at least the renewal part. A Tea Party activist has taken over the party. As  see it, Obama is moving his party to the center and The Tea Party is moving the G.O.P more to the right. There goes any chance for national unity.

 By the way, the State of The Union can be stated very succinctly - union membership is rapidly declining. Another blow to national unity.

 No ranting, no raving, just the facts and I broke my writer's block. I'm not blank for the time being at least!

Some Fleeting Thoughts

• Watching it snow outside, diversity came to mind. No two snowflakes are the same.  As the snow flakes reach the ground they forget their differences and join together to form a blanket of snow. No two human beings are the same but unlike snow flakes, their differences linger on in the form of bigotry, racial tensions and religious intolerance.
•  The competition among credit cards concerning rewards and cash rebates is becoming fierce. Moreover the fine print defies understanding. It looks like the time is ripe for a " credit card reward financial advisor" and maybe a listing on the NYSE.
• Are social networks like Facebook creating a bubble which is bound to burst as personal privacy is sacrificed more and more?
•  Why is it so important to be connected most of one's waking hours?
• As dashboards in cars become more complex, how many accidents have to occur before there is a clamoring for the ultimate gadget- a horse!
• Boehner's House has passed legislation calling for the repeal of the Health Care Act. Repealing so called Obamacare is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
• Do we really need a State of the Union address by the President?

I could have been a contender!

My favorite blogging key

I did it again, I changed the appearance of my blog! Whether or not it is an improvement is not the question. The question is why. Why do I keep changing my blogs or worse yet my blogs? Yes, my blogs! Fun With Cliches, According To Marge, Pensieri Casuali - merge and unmerge, merge and unmerge! Presently they are all standing on their own two feet. I don't think they will be merged again any time soon. It's just too much fucking trouble.

 I've been known to do the blogging unthinkable - I actually DELETE a post now and then after it has been published. If that's unthinkable , think about this or better yet try to remember, Pensieri, From Museful's Keyboard, A Little Ado About A Few Things, From Tony's Keyboard. Sound familiar? Only if you are an avid reader of this blog. Since there are few , to tell the truth - very, very few avid readers, let me me enlighten you ( incidentally emlightening the world was the purpose of the blog as originally concieved but the light went out - low battery power). They are all blog titles, the predecessors of Pensieri Casuali. Why would any blog title have a predecessor? Insecurity. It's something like being in the witness protection program. I wonder? Could that be a reason for so few followers of this blog. No one can find it! But I digress.

 I started to explain why this blog keeps constantly changing in appearance, title and content. After several sessions with a blog shrink - let's call him Tony, no make that Museful - it became obvious. Every time a blogging change has been made it's been the result of being bored silly. I get bored and I make a blog change. The shrink and I  concluded that it qualifies me as  an addict. I'm addicted to making blog changes.

Like a typical addict, I've compromised what up until now was a secret ambition. I dared to dream the impossible dream of being a journalist. It was my quest to contend for the Pulitzer Prize. Instead I became the Don Quixote of the blogosphere. Had it not been for my addiction I could have been a contender!

If it's not too late to make a resolution for the New Year, I'd like to give it a shot - in the interest of civility and out of respect for the victims of nuts who go around shooting people , make that " give it a try".

I resolve not to make any more changes to my blog or blogs as long as one of the following happens this year :

• The White House and Congress make an honest effort to repeal The Second Amendment.
•  Israel and the Palestinians agree to a fully autonomous Palestinian State.
• Iran and North Korea dismantle their nuclear capability.
• The Cleveland Indians win the 2011 World Series
• The Cleveland Indians retire Chief Wahoo. 

Talk about the impossible dream, that resolve fits the bill.  I'm already contemplating a change in my blog title which is more suited to my blogging style? How about " The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind". I like it but there is a small problem - someone else is already using the title. Oh well, there's no rush. Did you notice that I changed my blog photo? Hold on, I just noticed those birds flying around in the template I'm presently using. " Fleeting Thoughts" might be a good title. It really would, that's what happens to all of the great thoughts for posts I come up with, they fly off into a black hole . On second thought, I ought to give my New Years resolution a reasonable chance - Pensieri Casuali it is for now.

At this point anyone who accidentally came across this post might ask, " What in hell is this demented guy writing about".  Isn't it obvious, I'm pretending I've got something important to say and  more to the point , I needed a blog post.

My name is Tony. I'm a blogger who could have been a contender but settled for being a blog changer!

Cutie goes to college

Epilogue to Cutie is a whore

Cutie (the Netbook) is now going to college! She is still working in coffee houses but has also become an integral part of my son's lectures at Kent State University. My son informed me that Cutie is performing very professionally. She now can boast that Power Point as well as Kindle is part of her hard drive. When informed of Cutie's  activity at the high primal's Alma Mater, the high primal's condescending response  was, " I didn't know she could do that". Sour grapes?

Good luck Jim Thome

I read this morning that the Minnesota Twins have signed Jim Thome for the 2011 season. That means that Thome will hit his 600th home run in a Twins uniform. Congratulations to the Twins for having the sense to re-sign this gentleman ballplayer. Why Cleveland didn't put out some bucks to sign a great player they developed is mind boggling. Hope Thome hits home run #600 in Cleveland's Progressive Field.

As time goes by.......

As time goes by the big news becomes ordinary news and before long only an anniversary to be noted. It took less than a week to get the horrific Tuscon Massacre off the front page, at least the front page of The Plain Dealer. It seems that the front page, the past few days, has been reserved for the selection of a new Cleveland Browns football coach and the inauguration of a "get tough" governor. I guess it makes sense if you need to get your mind off making the hard decisions for promoting civility in our life style. Publicising the new mentor of head butting and " take him out" sports is just what we need. A governor bent on destroying the rights of the working man will certainly put civility in its place. As time goes by, civility will not seem that important as long as a touchdown is scored or a political party is put in its place. Hope I haven't crossed the line when it comes to writing in a civil manner. Go Browns - that should do it!

Cutie is a whore!

 Cutie is a whore! That is what the high primal has declared. The high primal is not prone to label people and in this case she may be excused. You see, Cutie is a computer - a Netbook at that. Why has Cutie been labeled a whore? Before answering that let me give you a little history.



Marge and Cutie hard at work



It has been a struggle to get the high primal to embrace the wonders of computers. One of the most recent efforts to help the high primal to become computer literate was to purchase a Netbook almost a year ago. Why a Netbook? It's cute, thus the name Cutie ( in our household most inanimate objects have names). Initially Cutie was a hit and did a fair job of helping the high primal develop some computer skills. The high primal learned how to use a mouse and to some extent Cutie's pointing device. Accessing the Internet became almost routine although surfing was limited to shopping and reading the New York Times - no surprise there.

Sadly in recent months Cutie was neglected by the high primal. Apparently the high primal's computer literacy got to the point where she became envious of my seventeen inch screen. Cutie just didn't cut it anymore with her ten inch screen.

To make a long story short, which I'm sure the reader would appreciate at this point, I convinced the high primal that there was absolutely no problem with her sharing my computer. Actually we now refer to it as our computer. I don't understand why she hasn't given it a name but I'm sure that will happen in time.

As for Cutie, she was put up for adoption. Our son seized the opportunity to adopt Cutie and promptly put her to work in various coffee houses. Not surprisingly, Cutie began to feel like a real computer. So why is she a whore? The high primal detests Kindles. She make no bones about her feeling that the use of Kindles is obscene. When the high primal found out that Kindle for PCs had been downloaded to Cuties hard drive she screamed at our son, "You've made a whore out of my Cutie!".

(I must confess that I didn't know that you could download a kindle for an ordinary PC and it free ( if it's free how could Cutie be accused of being a whore?). Free is good, so now this computer has a Kindle for PC's on its hard drive! The Kindle icon does not appear on my Desktop - the high primal is not computer literate enough to locate the program. I wouldn't want the high primal interacting with a whore.)

Talk in a way that heals, not a way that wounds

The President spoke tonight at the memorial service of the Tuscon massacre victims at the University of Arizona. The pundits all pointed out, for the benefit of us ordinary folk, that Obama's speech was an opportunity to turn his presidency around. I listened and I liked what I heard. What the effect will be on his presidency only the pundits and history will determine. As far as I'm concerned he hit a home run in his plea for civility. The following quote from his speech should standout for all Americans  - especially for our representatives in government.

“At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.”

 There is no better way to honor the victims of the Tuscon tragedy. These are words to heed as we write,  as well as when we speak.

Dealing With Tragedies

How do you deal with a tragedy such as occurred at the Tuscon mall a few days ago?  In a letter to the editor in The Plain dealer this morning , one writer had all the answers. First you angrily point out all the vitriolic remarks that Democrats have made including the President and the First Lady, then you make a plea for everyone to take advantage of the right to bear arms which is given to all red blooded Americans by the Second Amendment. Once this is done, you carry! If you stumble upon a shooter in the mall, you take him out  (even though he is exercising his right as a red blooded American to carry a Glock which can fire off multiple shots in a flash ) . He should have added to it would be advisable to be very accurate lest the protector becomes guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Is it too much to ask for gun owners to tune down their "wild west" rhetoric?

What is a quagmire?

As the new year starts to take root, our priorities as a nation also start to take root . Number one on the list is the coming presidential election in 2012. Number two on the list is the coming presidential election in 2012. Number three on the list is the coming presidential election of 2012. Wait a minute! Are our priorities that limited? I think they are. Power is the name of the game and any initiatives out of Washington whether from the White House or the Congress will have to pass the propaganda test. Will they provide ammunition designed to gain votes in the coming presidential election of 2012. Which brings me to quagmire. One of the definitions of quagmire is a situation from which extrication is very difficult.

•  Mixing legislative agenda and presidential politics is a quagmire!
• Everyone knows that by this time our troops should be home from Afghanistan.  Afghanistan  is a quagmire!
•  Campaign promises are explicit. "Wish I hadn't said that" prevails after the campaign. Campaign promises are a quagmire!
•  Israeli and Palestinian negotiations on a Palestinian State are stuck in the  quagmire of Israeli settlements in the West Bank!
•  Outsourcing of American jobs in the midst of an economic downturn is a quagmire!
•  Blue Ribbon Panel or Presidential Commission recommendations are quagmires!
•  Pakistan as an ally is a quagmire!
•  The Senate filibuster rule is a quagmire!
•  The Cleveland Indians finishing last in their Division is a quagmire!
•  Using Chief Wahoo as a sports logo is a quagmire!
•  The Second Amendment is a quagmire!
•  The role of lobbyists in government is a quagmire!

 Judging from this post, it appears that we are surrounded by quagmires!

 Am I sure I know what a quagmire is? Things could not possibly be this bad.

Make up your mind, delete or publish!

This post is a quagmire! Help! I've fallen into a quagmire and I can't get out!

EITHER HIT THE DELETE BUTTON OR PUBLISH THE DAMN THING, YOU FOOL!

(Quagmires do that to you - you start having a conversation with them and find it difficult to stop.)

Not before I once again declare that the preparations for the coming presidential election in 2012 are a quagmire!

Maybe I should save this as a draft?

I haven't got all day , sh#t or get off the blog!

PUBLISH! May the Blogging Gods forgive me.

It is now official!

It is now official, the politics of rage, the lack of effective gun control and the power of lobbyists has brought us one step closer to being a banana republic. The loss of life and critical injuries as a result of the Arizona massacre today is tragic for this country and our society as well as the families of the victims.

Required reading for assholes and non-assholes

One of my most enjoyable Christmas presents was " The No Asshole Rule" by Robert I. Sutton, PhD. The book is billed as "the definitive guide to working with ---and---surviving--- bullies,creeps, jerks, tyrants, tormentors,despots, backstabbers, egomaniacs, and all the other assholes who do their best to destroy you at work". Dr. Sutton is an advocate of establishing a civilized atmosphere in the workplace. It starts by discouraging  assholes from applying their trade. In a civilized workplace firing an asshole , no matter how talented he or she may be is not out of the question.

 It was a thoroughly enjoyable read. It took me back to my working years and brought back reminiscences of the many assholes I encountered over forty years. If only Dr. Sutton's book had been in my library during those years, I would have recognized the "bullies,creeps, jerks, tyrants, tormentors,despots, backstabbers, egomaniacs" in a more timely manner and dealt with them more adroitly rather than confronting them in a belligerent manner. Does that make me an asshole? According to the book, at least a temporary ahole. No matter, the book's message is applicable to  my present environment. It provides insight for dealing with neighborhood gatherings, supermarkets, big box stores and various organizations where aholes abound. Then there are the 24/7 news programs with their pundits. If at least one of them applied the No Asshole Rule it would  make listening to the news commentaries a lot more enjoyable. My newly acquired knowledge of what makes an asshole will also come in handy today if I watch the opening day ceremonies of Boehner's House of Representatives. The book had little to say about applying the No Asshole Rule to politics. I suppose it would be next to impossible to find a sponsor, never mind enforce such an enlightened rule. As Sutton suggests, the No Asshole rule brings about a more civilized workplace - a good place to start, the probability of spilling over into politics and our daily lives is certainly there.

 Of course each one of us has an asshole. We must wonder at times if our asshole has taken over our personality. Dr. Sutton to the rescue. Take a self exam by visiting this site, Are You a Certified Asshole. I took the exam but I'm not revealing the results. I wonder why I received the book ?

( As an aside, I once heard a proctologist ( colorectal surgeon in today's lingo) say that he chose the field rather than obstetrics in order to have twice as many patients. He was a jovial asshole.)

Bring it on 2011

High primals are not noted for being highly organized as proven by the above note ( with all due respect, the high primal did not have her glasses on). It  did get us through New Years Eve and New years Day was a crowning success, proving that there is no challenge that 2011 can offer that we can't deal with. Bring it on!