The Chief Is Angry

Chief Wahoo must really be pissed.  The Indians success early in the season ( What's With The Chief) made me foolishly predict that the Chief had removed his curse. It is now obvious ( month of June, W8-L16) that the Chief has cast a spell on the Cleveland Indians that they may never get out of. Can you blame the Chief. Indians management keeps playing a logo game . Sometimes they feature the Block C, sometimes the script I and sometimes the Chief. It's as though they are auditioning logos in preparation for retiring the Chief.  I suspect that they would like to get rid of Chief Wahoo but are fearful of alienating fans. Alienating fans? The team's performance is taking care of that, not the idea of retiring the Chief. The Chief must go! Why can't the Dolans get that through their heads. Hold everything! I'm sure the Chief is angry about not being allowed to retire but lets not blame his curse for the poor performance. The Indians would look like a lousy team regardless of the logo on their uniforms. Still it's worth the gamble to retire the Chief and hope for the best. Oh, by the way, some hitters would help.

Breaking News - Chisenhall called up from Columbus. Finally, someone playing third base who can hit . Stay tuned.

Proud of My Roots!

I was born, raised, educated and married in New York State. My children were born in New York State. I have never been so proud of my roots than I am right now. New York has truly brought us into the twenty-first century with its historic passage of a law that will give gays and lesbians the right to marry and all the legal protections and benefits that go with marriage. I now live in a state, Ohio, which I doubt will ever have the vision for legislation of that magnitude. This is the state of my grandchildren and great grandchildren. Hopefully they will one day change Ohio's vision. In the meantime, here's to you New York, proud to call you my home state.

Half A Loaf Is Better Than None

Obama is expected to announce significant troop withdrawals from Afghanistan. Along with winding down the Afghan War, it looks like we may be winding down our penchant for nation building. As Fareed Zakaria on his Facebook page suggested, the killing of Osama bin Laden is a powerful argument for emphasizing counterterrorism in fighting terrorism over nation building.  The foolishness of nation building brings to mind the cliche, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Afghanistan with its tribal society will never be the democracy envisioned by the Bush neocons and neither will Iraq (too bad Obama was sucked into the nation building farce after he took office).

A total pullback in Afghanistan by the end of this year would have been nice, but I must admit impractical. Half a loaf is better than none!
  

No good writer is a fast reader!

One of the reasons for engaging in blogging is to hone one's writing skills. As I have learned, doing so can be a daunting task. I often ask myself 'what distinguishes a polished writer from a mediocre blogger'. At last, thanks to Twitter, I have discovered the secret of of writing elegant prose. A Tweet by @jackshafer ( writes 'Press Box' column for "Slate") got me to an essay by Joseph Epstein, a portion of which appears follows.

Heavy sentences: "Learning to write sound, interesting, sometimes elegant prose is the work of a lifetime. The only way I know to do it is to read a vast deal of the best writing available, prose and poetry, with keen attention, and find a way to make use of this reading in one’s own writing. The first step is to become a slow reader. No good writer is a fast reader, at least not of work with the standing of literature. Writers perforce read differently from everyone else. Most people ask three questions of what they read: (1) What is being said? (2) Does it interest me? (3) Is it well constructed? Writers also ask these questions, but two others along with them: (4) How did the author achieve the effects he has? And (5) What can I steal, properly camouflaged of course, from the best of what I am reading for my own writing? This can slow things down a good bit."

 I pride myself on being a fast reader which in the world of good writing skills is apparently the door to mediocrity. There is some hope in that I do well  as far as  question (5) is concerned.  One out of five is a hell of a lousy score and does not bode well for my writing.

I'm sure there are other points in the essay which would help my ego when it comes to writing but I read the essay so fast that I find it difficult to articulate any of the fine points . Hold everything , there was one gem which I believe will salvage my blogging career - " The only way to write is well, and how you do it is your own damn business".

Look out!

The cliche of the day on Cliche.com is look out. The site goes on to give the following explanations for look out.

• Beware
• There is something approaching very fast

I have a problem with classifying look out as a cliche. It may be overused  but it is certainly not trite. If you are about to step into the path of of an erratically driven car, would you prefer to have someone yell "look out" or would you have them mouth a time consuming phrase like " If I were you , I'd pay attention to that rapidly approaching vehicle". Give me "look out" every time. The supposed overuse of look out is excusable because of its value as a clear warning in two words. Beware of what is classified as a cliche!

Middle Class Be Warned



Republican Platform For The Middle Class

Tony's Finch Diner Ordered Shutdown By Homeowners Association

Unknown asses have succeeded in getting the  f***ing F------s Homeowners Association to order Tony to get his Finch Diner the hell off of common property. The asses are suspected to be Tea Party activists who don‘t have the cagliones to do anything important in local politics. Not wanting to make waves, Tony has agreed to move his diner to safe ground. He has served notice however that he intends to report the abuse of Finches by the F------s Homeowners Association to the Audubon Society. Tony also suspects who the asses are and has called a meeting of all the Finches in the neighborhood to tweet about the anti-Finch terrorists. The guest twitter at the meeting will be the lead bird from Alfred Hitchcock “Birds” movie. It is rumored that this bird is an expert at pecking asses and will provide instructions on precision ass pecking for a group of Finches who have volunteered to form a special Finch Attack Force (FAF). In the meantime, Tony has engaged a contractor to remove the offending Finch feeder. Asked where the feeder was being moved to, Tony would not disclose the location and would only mumble: I’ll get rid of my last feeder when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.

I'll hold my nose and vote for him

A politician I am not. An economist I am not. I can  add 1 and 1 and get 2 but I must admit, that does not make me a mathematician. Still I keep trying to add the facts as I see them in an attempt to make sense out of where we are heading.

Math can get quite complex when I try adding 4442 American lives lost during Operation Iraq Freedom to 1584 lives lost during Operation Enduring Freedom . I keep getting a figure of 14 trillion which is also equivalent to our national debt. Impossible? Not when you think about the billions of dollars we have poured into two wars. The investment was supposed to give us security and as a by product two stable nations, Iraq and Afghanistan. Our return on an investment of  billions and over 6000 lives ( not to mention the thousands of maimed soldiers) is a national debt which is crippling our country and two fragile nations which will be forever tribal societies. I for one do not feel anymore secure today than I did on 9/11/01. If anything, today's economic mess and poltical shenanigans make me feel less secure.

I wonder if Bin Laden ever gloated over not only the 3000 lives lost on 9/11 but as an aftermath the economic chaos enveloping the United States and the 6000 lives lost fighting two fruitless wars to rid the world of terrorism.

President Obama at the moment is consumed by the upcoming 2012 presidential election. He likes to do the little things like going to Puerto Rico to fulfill a 2008 campaign promise. I hope he gets the balls to fulfill the promises that really mean something, like ending the wars and getting people back to work. Time is getting short - the approval bounce he got from the hit on Bin Laden is gone. He needs to take a deep breath and once again become the Obama of 2008. I’m not optimistic that he will. It probably would not be good politics, at least as far as his advisors are concerned. If it's business as usual it presents the dilemma of who should be elected in 2012 to lead this nation. Considering the choices at the moment, Obama is it. As my son recently put it: I'll hold my nose and vote for him. I sincerely hope that will not be necessary - just in case I'm shopping for some clothes pins.

Long May It Wave!

As is often the case, when in need of a post, browsing through the morning newspaper does the trick. Yes indeed, this morning, there were all kinds of events and issues waiting for my deft analysis.

 Of course in Ohio, sports dominates the news. I could write about LeBron James, the former Cleveland Cavalier, and his supposed swan dive (I am writing about basketball and not high diving) in the NBA finals. As a Miami Heat player he is taking a lot of heat. The problem is I could care less about LeBron, and basketball for that matter, in spite of the Governor who saw fit to make the Dallas Mavericks and their fans honorary Ohioans. Fortunately it is only for today.

Then there is the football scandal at Ohio State University. People are actually acting like the reputation of an institution of higher learning has been stained. Again I must take a bye. I always thought that OSU was a football factory masquerading as a university. I don't see why some football players selling memorabilia for tattoos is so bad. If they had attended their economics class they would have learned that getting into a hedge fund was more profitable.

I can't ignore Weiner and his sexting problems. On the other hand I can.

The Republican Presidential Candidate debate in New Hampshire? There is probably enough material there for at least ten posts. Big problem! I did not watch the debate or read about it this morning. The comic pages were much more informative.

The Indians June swoon would make for a good post but every time I start writing about these overachievers who have suddenly become underachievers, the tears start flowing. Damn Yankees!

There is something I am comfortable writing about. Today is Flag Day! I read this morning that Betsy Ross did not design the flag in spite of what my History teacher told me many,many years ago. I never believed it anyway. Red, white and blue? There are all kinds of poetic versions about the choice of these colors but really, the only plausible choice for the colors was the Union Jack. Uggh! Yes I could write a lot about Flag Day and the flag but after I spewed all the words out, only a few would be relevant. In spite of all of our problems, we can proudly point to Old Glory as the flag of the best nation in the world. Long may it wave!

Bones

Doctor Bones  had this advice for his patient who was thin as a rail: I’ll make no bones about it. I have a bone to pick with you. If I were you I would bone up on good nutrition. You are nothing but a bag of bones.

Tony's Dove Feeder Has Moved

The last meal

Tony's Finch Feeder - correction, Dove Feeder-  proved to be an unintentional, overwhelming success among the Mourning Doves. Unfortunately the popularity of the feeder amongst the dove population far exceeded the available toilet facilities,  Doves queuing up for dinner made  liberal use of the lawn furniture. There was no way Tony was going to devote his days to cleaning up bird shit, so he called an emergency meeting of his Finch Diner Board. By a  unanimous vote it was decided to move the finch feeder to an undisclosed location. Once this was done, the Twitter social network was set ablaze with  tweets expressing anger about Tony's treatment of Doves. It now appears that a Mourning Dove Spring is in progress. At last reports the Interior Department has called for banning Tony and his board from all bird feeder activity. Tony vehemently has stated that he is in the bird feeder business to stay in spite of the damn doves. He also added that in a couple of weeks it will be Summer and that should take care of the Mourning Dove Spring.

How low can airlines fly

Weinergate made the headlines this week but not for long. Not to be outdone, Delta Airlines stole the show by demonstrating just how low an American Corporation can get. Grabbing exorbitant baggage fees from  servicemen returning from Afghanistan was Delta's way of showing their appreciation for their service. Caught with their flaps down, the recalcitrant airline officials now will allow servicemen to board with two extra bags free. Bullshit! Why can't they forget the fees altogether? Next time their lobbyists spend "baggage fee" money to lobby Congress for more subsidies, they should be run out of town on a rail. Why is that individuals are asked to sacrifice for the good of their country while Corporations  are exempt? Globalization? Corporations are starting to resemble "The Man Without A Country".

Having said that, let me hasten to add that there are many Corporations that can properly be labeled "good citizens". One that shall go unnamed is the one that pays my pension. A few bucks ( and they are a few) can buy anyone.

Back to Weinergate. According to CNN he is not giving up the headlines. Wish he would resign and make room for the next Congressman to act like a sophomore. Boys will be boys. Some will even grow up to become President of The United States.

More Stimulus Money Gone Bad

In my 6/2/11 post I confessed to the misuse of stimulus money concerning my finch feeder project. Further investigation has revealed that the fraudulent use of stimulus money was greater than reported.

Funds were also used to establish "an upscale Humming Bird Bar where Humming Birds could wet their whistle with Tony's special nectar ". Once the project was completed the high primal and I began our watch for hummingbirds. Not a bird was sighted. This in spite of the meticulous care taken to clean the feeder.  In disgust, about a week ago, the diner/feeder was demolished, stimulus money be damned.

Thanks to dicklincoln.com

Lo and behold, this morning, a hummingbird was sighted at the sight of what was formerly Tony's Hummingbird Diner. The damn bird was having a great time satiating himself with nectar from the flowers which surrounded the former feeder.

When I reported this to the high primal , she asked if I was going to try a feeder again. My response. " Hell no! From now on, the only hummingbirds  welcome in our yard are Free Range Hummingbirds."

As for the stimulus money, The Treasury Department can consider it money well spent to verify that birds prefer Mother Nature.

Architect - designed birdhouses

Thanks to the coolcleveland blog my difficulties with birdfeeders may be at an end.

"Birdhouses get classy at For the Birds, a display of architect-designed birdhouses @ Cleveland Botanical Garden, held in collaboration w/ the American Institute of Architects (AIA Cleveland). Birdhouse styles range from “shingle/stick” to “prairie & beyond” to “modernism” to “post-war suburbia.” Birdhouses will be displayed throughout the Garden’s 10 acres."

First thing in the morning- make that midmorning - I'm off to the bank to see if some sub-prime mortgages are available for birdhouses. I've got "modernism" in  mind. No old birds for me.

About Friends

The bad news is  that the cliché “ any friend of yours is a friend of mine” is in danger of losing its cliché status. The even worse news is that it has become the motto of the Facebook social network. If you have a Facebook page, you are besieged with ways to find and add friends. The easiest way of course is to make a friend out of someone who is your friend's friend - any friend of yours is a friend of mine. Not only do you get a new friend , you get a photo, bio and countless comments about things you would rather not know. Gossip finds its way into many comments which is perfectly acceptable. After all, what’s a little gossip among friends. Pre-Facebook, if you dared to consider anyone a friend because he or she was the friend of a friend and you later found out that the new friend was obnoxious, you were faced with the difficult choice of telling that new friend to go and pound salt. Not a problem with Facebook. With a click of the mouse you can unfriend any friend and that friend will never darken your door or better yet your screen again. In fact that friend will not even be told he or she has been unfriended. If you are unfriended and somehow find out, you can always rationalize that with friends like that , you don’t need a friend.

Stimulus Money Gone To the Birds

President Obama will be in Toledo Friday hoping to garner a few votes by touting the success of the stimulus plan to save the domestic auto companies. Evidently there are those who say that this was money ill spent. It is not my intent to debate this issue. Since I drive a Toyota, anything I would have to to say would be tainted. On the other hand , I am familiar with  stimulus money being ill spent.

On 3/28 I wrote a post, "Tony's Finch Diner Files for Clicheruptcy". in which I chronicled my problems with my finch feeder franchise. A fellow blogger took note of my problems and promised to contact his congressman to enlist his aid in getting some significant stimulus money to save Tony's Finch Diners.

To my surprise, the stimulus money did become available. After consulting my board, I embarked upon a major renovation of my finch feeder ( code for " I bought an expensive feeder").

Early in May, Tony's Finch Diner had a grand opening. Business was great and finches of all varieties flocked to the new feeder. Success was short lived. News of the diner spread to the bird population. Especially noted was the platform at the bottom of the feeder. Mourning Doves decided that the platform was put there for their use. Yes, the doves became regular customers. What was meant to be a finch feeder was now a dove feeder.

Tony's Dove Feeder

To add insult to injury, yesterday I received a letter from the Treasury Department. In no uncertain terms I was advised that I had misspent the stimulus money. It was meant for a finch feeder, not a dove feeder. There is no way I can pay back the money. I did offer to ship the feeder to The White House. I understand there is a dog named Bo there ( I assume he is still there - hasn't been in the news lately)  who might be able to scare the doves away. I received another insulting letter calling me a fool to think the dog would scare the doves and not the finches. I responded that since the stimulus money spent on the car companies is still going to result in an 11 billion dollar loss for The Treasury, they could easily absorb my $29.95 loss.

Standing Room Only

The last I heard was that Obama was going to keep his distance from my yard when it comes to touting stimulus money successes.



But I Had Reservations