February 27th, 2009 by Max
Coming out of the video store just now, I hear, “I’m coming through the door with you.” So I look behind me and there is this baby faced kid, looking just like Jack Black, except his hair is short, a little lighter, and he’s got it spiked on both sides of the top of his head, about an inch high running front to back.
So I ok come out the door with me. We round the corner and into the parking lot. I walk to my car. His is a little further out. “Is that yours?” says he. I’m 10 feet from the Mustang, now 7 years old. Its dirty, white and in the dark parking lot, lit by a street light kinda sorta gleems in the rain.
I can’t think of anything cleever, so I just say, “Its mine”
“Niiiiiccccceh!” , says he.
So, starting today. Everytime something like this happens with the Mustang, I’ll report it here in this new category I’m starting, just for compliments on my car.
Its not vanity. I’m a little bit fascinated by it. I imagine its similar to what a beautiful woman hears. Like me she didn’t earn it. Or a handsome man I suppose. I heard a scientist on the podcast Slacker Astronomy, Dr Michael Turner, being asked if his physical atractiveness made it easier to be a scientist! By a man no less! He just brushed it off, but I think there’s something about beauty, that makes people want to tell the beautiful that they’re beautiful. And I think it extends to cars.
Posted in Mustang | 2 Comments »
February 26th, 2009 by Max
If you haven’t seen this … and to lighten the mood … here is Christian the lion!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiGKWoJi5qM
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 25th, 2009 by Max
When I was a kid, the people who worked at the biggest company in town, were called Zipperheads. They were proud to work at THAT place. It provided status. And an excellent wage. They were glad to work there. They loved being zipperheads.
This quote however. Is from today.
“The Company X, Code of Conduct is an important part of who we are as a company. Our Code sets forth policies and principles that are critical to the sound operation of our businesses and are essential to our core values – integrity, teamwork, respect for the individual and commitment to excellence.
As a Company X employee, you are asked to review Code principles and re-affirm your commitment to and understanding of the Code each year. This year’s training course has audio and captions are available by clicking on the “Closed Captions” tab…. At the end of the course, you will take a short test and then you will be taken to the affirmation page. The deadline to complete the training program and affirm is March 13.”
I work for the best company in town. I will take the training course. I will pass the test.
Posted in Big Brother, Changes in the World In My Lifetime | 2 Comments »
February 24th, 2009 by Max
Ok. I’m a partisan, but this guy has such confidence, that you just believe he’s that smart. I believe he’s that smart. And not only do I think that the smart people he’s surrounded himself with, are our best bet to figure out the best strategy to make money move through our economy.
More than that, I think he can and will inspire our youth and improve our actual brains!
But more than that, I think he can make Republicans and Democrats work together.
And while I don’t think even he can fix the middle east – I give him the best shot since … yes … wait for it … Jimmy Carter.
Obama’s gonna change the world. I believe it.
Posted in Politics | No Comments »
February 23rd, 2009 by Max
My microwave dinners take too long.
Posted in Max's Theories | 1 Comment »
February 23rd, 2009 by Max
The other day my buddy, the Reverend, said that soon we would have bracelets with our whole medical history on them. He was happy about it. I was skeptical. I’m skeptical generally. But I could see the good in it.
Then I realized that I was wearing a pedometer, with which I could offer up to my health insurance company the very number of steps I take each day. I can plug that device into a computer which will bring up a web page, which keeps all of my weight and blood pressure information and rewards me with “health miles” [or points] which, if I gain enough of these, can mean I earn $25. Whu hu!
My mind flashed to “1984″. But this was business, this wasn’t government. Was it?
___
I intend with what I hope will be an ongoing series to enter here in “Big Brother”, times when I perceive George Orwell’s double plus ungood father figure, gaining on me.
I welcome anyone who cares to add instances of the industrialgovernment watching over us?
Posted in Big Brother, Changes in the World In My Lifetime | No Comments »
February 22nd, 2009 by Max
I’ve been listening really hard to all manner of media, especially Planet Money podcast and NPR and the news channels including CNBC, about what to do to fix the worlds money problems. America’s money problems.
I don’t know the answer.
But more and more I hear “nationalize the banks” including an openness to that from none other than Peter King (R) New York.
Would our pain have been less if we had just let them all fail?
I would really like to know.
Posted in Economics | No Comments »
February 21st, 2009 by Max
I liked it.
Ok. It has some troubles. But its Joss Whedon and for that alone, I’m willing to give it a long leash. And then there’s Eliza Dushku!
Its too early to give up on a show that has that much going for it. But one wonders about the structure of this little corner of the Whedonverse, where we usually get to know the fears and strengths of what are typically flawed characters, who soon feel like friends of our’s. Only this time the lead character is “wiped” at least once a show. How will we come to find sympathy with a character who is “not in there” for a while each episode?
Also typical for Joss is writing on multiple levels at a time. A growing sense of menace hangs over each season as our heroine, for Joss likes to write female leads, battles through episodic danger and romance. We do have the federal agent who is destined to break the Dollhouse ring, despite his comrades mockery and disbelief. Is he this season’s “big bad”? I doubt it. Is it Alpha from episode 2? I doubt it. Perhaps its Alpha. Perhaps Alpha can play Angel to Echo’s Buffy! Dollhouse seems a bit reworked, if not derived, from Joss’es masterwork “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”.
Then there’s the problem of disbelief. This Dollhouse organization is massive, complete with a small army, helicopters and mulitistory faciliy with a bunker like sub-basement where the “active” arrives after each hired session. Each active comes with a van and “handler” (read “watcher”) for each operative as well as an organizational hierarchy and a pile of computers complete with the obligatory nerdy super-geek.
Finally, in a interview for his masterpiece Buffy, Joss said that he liked to have a little romance, a little action and a little humor in every episode.
After two episodes, he’s got some good action sequences. The romance is all artificial by construct. And the humor is completely absent.
But its got Eliza Dushku who mezmerizes us on the screen, but is more compelling in the field when she kicks some ass, than when she stares blankly after being “wiped” This role is a huge challenge for her, let’s see if she’s up to it.
And its got Joss Whedon!
And I’m going to watch it next week!
Posted in Arts, Dollhouse | 1 Comment »
February 21st, 2009 by Max
Again, Mr Obama has disappointed me. Being a Constitutional Law Instructor surely informs him regarding “the separation”.
Yes. The way around that is to make faith based organizations become 501c3 organizations and to insist that they not discriminate – we do insist that they not discriminate, right?
How about if we insist on not giving United States Government money (I know I know, its “our” money) to religious organizations? At all. Period!
How about if we not get ‘around’ the constitution?
How about if we make religious organizations pay taxes?
Posted in Politics | No Comments »
February 21st, 2009 by Max
So Mr Obama has closed (or is closing Gitmo) but rendition isn’t ruled out?
The Chicago Times: “”Under limited circumstances, there is a legitimate place” for renditions, said Tom Malinowski, the Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. “What I heard loud and clear from the president’s order was that they want to design a system that doesn’t result in people being sent to foreign dungeons to be tortured.”
In his executive order on lawful interrogations, Obama created a task force to re-examine renditions to make sure that they “do not result in the transfer of individuals to other nations to face torture” or otherwise circumvent human-rights laws and treaties.”
Hmm. I dunno. Right now I’m willing to give my fearless leader the benefit of the doubt. There ARE bad guys out there. This is not paying poor people to point out strangers and people they don’t like and having the Americans scoop up a thousand to put in prison permanently. However. It must not happen to American Citizens and it should be rare and they should be guilty.
But, you say, if they’re guilty, why not just put them on trial?
Hmm.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 19th, 2009 by Max
So last nights episode was a disappointment.
We start with the eye. Jack on the Island. Cool. But then we go back and learn very little while we live/relive what we know is going to happen.
It left a lot of questions. When did Sayid get arrested? Why did Hurley bring the guitar? (John thinks its because he saw Charlie) and the irresponsible absence of Aaron.
Yes there was the myster of Ben and being bloodied and Ben’s having threatened Charles Widmore’s daughter. Is Penny alive? I think he’ll use her to get Desmond back on the island.
We know they’re in 1988 with Jin. Or at least they are with Jin. The microbus looked in good shape. Maybe Jin moved back into the 1950′s with them.
It was better that they didn’t explain the science of how they found the place in time.
I still say that they caved to Religon, in the Religion vs Science debate. Clearly Locke is coming back from the dead to save the world. How lame. I just hope that they at least balance it out with a little of “it could have never happened without science”.
The other day a few weeks ago I was watching My Name Is Earl. Joy and Darnell had to move away because Darnell is in the witness protection program and when Joy lost it on National TV in an episoded of Estrada Or Nada Darnell had to hold her back and got on the camera!
I knew that they would find a way to bring the two of them back into the show. They’re just too cool? Odd? Quirky, to not have on anymore. Today Danny Glover shows up as Darnell’s spy father who trick’s Earl and Joy and Randy into leading him right to Darnell whom he plans on killing because Darnell was really a spy who would not assasinate a 9 year old kid who was the Socialist head of state who wanted to nationalize the diamond mines!
Now that’s some plot twisting!
I hope next weeks LOST is better.
Posted in LOST | 2 Comments »
February 17th, 2009 by Max
I told a friend of mine several years ago, that today was me day. And I named it after myself. Everybody else gets 1 2 or 3 or more days a year. They get their birtdays. They get their valentines. They get Christmas. [Christmas is such a chore for me. I have to inflict it on my sister and my father.] They get Mother’s Day and Father’s day. Boss’es Day. Secretaries Day. Most people have anniversaries. There are times during the year for people to remind them, that they know they exist.
I know its proper modesty not to go around trumpeting your Birthday. And I’m all for humility. I think its the most underrated of virutues.
But for today, I need to proclaim MY birthday. Its my one day a year! I’ll have 364 days a year of humility. God knows I’m not a fountain of the other virtues, but today I’m not even going to push Humility.
Today, is my day, (with apologies to Michael Jordan and Hal Holbrook). Today? Happy Birthday to me!
Posted in Max's Theories | 3 Comments »
February 16th, 2009 by Max
And finally, I see Miguel Tejada crying over having lied to Congress about not namimg a teammate when called to testify.
After the redoubtable Jose Canseco wrote his book and named so many players who had been taking steroids, Congress got involved. Some players admitted it. Some players i.e. Rafael Palmiero denied it (lying to Congress). Mark McGuire took the fifth.
He got a lot of shit for it.
I thought at the time I would have done the same thing.
I’ve never understood why our Contstitution provides us immunity from self incrimination. But Mark McGuire took advantage of it in his Congressional testimony and he was damned smart for doing it.
At least he’s not a subject of a perjury trial. Miguel Tejada could get deported. (I hope that he doesn’t)
And the RAT Canseco; the idiot Canseco; leads America toward a brighter day.
But he didn’t bring down Mark McGuire!
Posted in Social Commentaries, Sports | No Comments »
February 16th, 2009 by Max
Ok. His answers were measured. He’s always thinking about his image.
But 104 players tested positive.
Alex wasn’t the only one doing it.
Hang an asterisk on every record from whenever it started to the start of for real testing – and then lets get back to real baseball! You don’t have to forgive Alex. Just recognize the time, recognize that he wasn’t the only one.
And move on.
Posted in Social Commentaries, Sports | 1 Comment »
February 16th, 2009 by Max
Here’s my opinion.
Something is wrong here;
But when I look at it I’m not sure what can or should be done, therefore I’m not even sure something is wrong.
It feels like it though.
I hear that there is a doctor who preformed this implantation procedure. I hear that it was unethical to implant 6 eggs. (two must have divided?)
Should there be a law? Is there a law?
Its hard to imagine supporting a law that tells women how many babies they should make. Apparently this woman wants to make a lot. (I suspect she thought she’d get a million dollars from sponsors, though I have know knowledge of this) What if she wants 3 more? (Assuming a doctor will implant the ethical maximum of three in a woman her age.)
What if she finds a doctor who will implant three more eggs? Now she’s got 11 babies in diapers and 6 small children. What if the next year she gets three more babies? She could have 14 babies in diapers in a two bedroom apartment? And still have six more small kids?
At what point does this become wrong?
If it is wrong, what can be done about it? Should there be something done about it?
If a single woman wants to have 14 children in what, six years (20 children in eight years is possible here) does that imply something should be done? When should something be done? Should something be done? What?
I have a lot of questions. I just can’t wrap my mind around this …
Posted in Changes in the World In My Lifetime, Social Commentaries | 1 Comment »
February 15th, 2009 by Max
Yesterday I saw (C-SPAN I think) John Boehner say that the Republican plan would have created twice as many jobs with half as much money.
Oh yeah. Well I can create three times as many jobs while costing only 1/3 as much money!
Come on!
Posted in Politics | 2 Comments »
February 10th, 2009 by Max
I’m on the leader board. I’m in the Top 11~
http://www.thebailoutgame.us/
Hint: SAVE Lehman Bros!
Posted in Economics | No Comments »
February 9th, 2009 by Max
I’m sitting here watching President Obama’s 1st press conference and a couple things jump to mind.
First, is that it must be the job. What was once a most eloquent orator, is now someone who gets stuck or at least slowed down in finding just the right word in the press conference.
The second item I’ve noticed, is that while occaisionally getting stuck, Barack Obama, gets going by speaking with complete sentences, concise choices of words, and both composure and emotion.
He’s both passionate and careful.
Its wonderful. For the last 3 months I’ve said that we’ve elected the smartest kid in the class. I still think it. I now think he’s both forceful and effective as an advocate for both his positions and for the American people.
Irrespective of what the correct answers are, at least we have a leader of which we can be proud. And I happen to think he’s right.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 9th, 2009 by Max
Posted in Arts, My New York, Photos | No Comments »
February 5th, 2009 by Max
Ok. So. We knew that Jin was alive. I forget how we knew, but we just knew.
And John says, I think correctly, that Sun is the one who is after Kate’s baby.
These two ideas are connected because Sun thinks Jin is dead.
I even get that Rousseau should show up. Though I can’t say that I expected it. I DO know that all of her people die and that she’s gonna have a baby … she’s preggers already … which means that Ben is not really the father. Although I suspect he virutally adopts, Danielle Rousseau’s kid.
I get the fact that the less time you’ve had on the Island, the more you’re likely to get a nosebleed.
So why is Juliet getting a nosebleed?
Posted in Arts, LOST | 2 Comments »
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