A couple of years ago, I went to see Date Night. I did not know what to expect. I've had mixed reactions to Steve Carell and while I was wild about Tina Fey's Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live, I thought that the movie might be silly. Still it was at my favorite movie theatre only a few minutes from the house.
I laughed so. Others do not share my enthusiasm for the film, but I loved it.
So, I bought Bossypants, a memoir, something like an autobiography up to now, by Tina Fey. The book had been on the best seller lists for some time. The first few pages of the book are filled with praise from all sorts.
I don't think the book is so extra. There is an advertisement in the back for an audio version, and perhaps listening to it might have made it special. As a read, the book seems like several--mostly disjointed--episodes in her life which are advertised as hilariously written, but seemed to me like listening to a gum chewing person in the next booth at the diner relaying one not so interesting episode after another to acquaintances who are smiling politely but who appear to be in some discomfort.
There were three aspects of the book that I did like. The first is that throughout she points out how women are marginalized in various fields and held up to different standards than men. Some good examples in several chapters that should make the point unless you desire to hold onto previously held beliefs. The second was her recounting of the experience doing Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live. The third was what to me was a very funny section about her annual travels to her in laws. Somehow that tickled me in a way the other sections did not.
So, I don't really get the fanfare related to this book. Not sorry I bought it and read it, but if you are a fan of SNL with Tina Fey and found Date Night funny, you might be disappointed expecting something similar.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Anthony Davis
So you're Anthony Davis. You are 19 years old and next year you are guaranteed a minimum of 4.3million dollars in salary.
Anthony turned 19 in March. Two months after my 19th birthday I got a job working for the Fuller Brush Company. I worked with my buddy Kenny as a picker. A picker stands on a conveyor belt. When a box for a customer arrives at your station, you read the order form on the box, and then pick the products off the wall that a customer has ordered. So, if someone orders a certain kind of toothbrush, you pluck say # 2145 a whiz bang toothbrush off the shelves and place it in a box. When you are done picking you push the box to the next picker on the line.
Two months after Anthony Davis's 19th birthday he was shaking hands with Commissioner David Stern and is able to buy every toothbrush in every CVS in the world and still have money left for floss.
Kenny and I lasted two days as pickers. We were temporary replacements anyway, and I dont recall a particular offense being the reason for our brief stint. I do recall it being pretty good money. About three bucks an hour.
What do you do with 4.3 million dollars when you are 19. I know that I gathered the money I amassed working at Fuller Brush and other locales to buy a 1963 Chevy Impala that got maybe 12 miles to the gallon.
Anthony Davis will probably work for fifteen years playing basketball. Unless all the experts are wrong, he will be a superstar.
Here is the question: Is there a downside to earning over 60 million dollars before you turn 35. It is a question that I have not had the good fortune to answer from a first person perspective, but let me guess. I think it could be painless. Nevertheless I do think there can be a downside not to have spent time working at Fuller Brush, or McDonalds, or the post office, or the Thruway or as a potwasher or a bus boy--all stellar jobs I held before getting rich making 9 grand as a high school English teacher.
If self actualization is the key for us all, I think it is tougher to become self actualized without having spent some time being concerned as an adult with having to pay the rent.
Anthony turned 19 in March. Two months after my 19th birthday I got a job working for the Fuller Brush Company. I worked with my buddy Kenny as a picker. A picker stands on a conveyor belt. When a box for a customer arrives at your station, you read the order form on the box, and then pick the products off the wall that a customer has ordered. So, if someone orders a certain kind of toothbrush, you pluck say # 2145 a whiz bang toothbrush off the shelves and place it in a box. When you are done picking you push the box to the next picker on the line.
Two months after Anthony Davis's 19th birthday he was shaking hands with Commissioner David Stern and is able to buy every toothbrush in every CVS in the world and still have money left for floss.
Kenny and I lasted two days as pickers. We were temporary replacements anyway, and I dont recall a particular offense being the reason for our brief stint. I do recall it being pretty good money. About three bucks an hour.
What do you do with 4.3 million dollars when you are 19. I know that I gathered the money I amassed working at Fuller Brush and other locales to buy a 1963 Chevy Impala that got maybe 12 miles to the gallon.
Anthony Davis will probably work for fifteen years playing basketball. Unless all the experts are wrong, he will be a superstar.
Here is the question: Is there a downside to earning over 60 million dollars before you turn 35. It is a question that I have not had the good fortune to answer from a first person perspective, but let me guess. I think it could be painless. Nevertheless I do think there can be a downside not to have spent time working at Fuller Brush, or McDonalds, or the post office, or the Thruway or as a potwasher or a bus boy--all stellar jobs I held before getting rich making 9 grand as a high school English teacher.
If self actualization is the key for us all, I think it is tougher to become self actualized without having spent some time being concerned as an adult with having to pay the rent.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
A helluva decision
It was, in fact, a helluva decision.
My sense is that there may be nearly as much relief in the Romney camp as Obama's. Romney could not have delighted in the overturning of the same law he implemented as governor. He already is being painted as a waffler, if the law had been overturned and he saluted the decision, democrats would have been merciless with criticism.
Very happy to have made an incorrect prediction. Someone on the Republican side of the aisle stepped up. What is good, as I see it, about this decision is not so much that this particular law was upheld, but that supreme court arbiters did not let politics impede their own deliberations. It may seem as if it is a good day for Democrats, but it really is a good day for Republicans who stood up. And if the health care plan turns out to be as successful as the Obama administration hopes, it will be a good day for the country in a number of ways. The health plan will work and our system of governance will have worked as well.
-------------------------
It is now a few hours since I originally posted this. Once again, Carnac the Magnificent, I am not. Instead of exhaling with a sense of relief, Candidate Romney has used this ruling to argue more strenuously on the plank that if you want to get rid of Obamacare then you need to get rid of Obama, i.e. elect Romney. I do not see how he will be able to combat the argument that he passed a similar bill in Massachusetts.
People on both the left and right must know of someone in their families who, without this health care bill, would be destitute and unable to receive treatment. Will people really pull a lever for a candidate who might take away a health benefit. Will the millions of baby boomers now in their mid 60s?
My sense is that there may be nearly as much relief in the Romney camp as Obama's. Romney could not have delighted in the overturning of the same law he implemented as governor. He already is being painted as a waffler, if the law had been overturned and he saluted the decision, democrats would have been merciless with criticism.
Very happy to have made an incorrect prediction. Someone on the Republican side of the aisle stepped up. What is good, as I see it, about this decision is not so much that this particular law was upheld, but that supreme court arbiters did not let politics impede their own deliberations. It may seem as if it is a good day for Democrats, but it really is a good day for Republicans who stood up. And if the health care plan turns out to be as successful as the Obama administration hopes, it will be a good day for the country in a number of ways. The health plan will work and our system of governance will have worked as well.
-------------------------
It is now a few hours since I originally posted this. Once again, Carnac the Magnificent, I am not. Instead of exhaling with a sense of relief, Candidate Romney has used this ruling to argue more strenuously on the plank that if you want to get rid of Obamacare then you need to get rid of Obama, i.e. elect Romney. I do not see how he will be able to combat the argument that he passed a similar bill in Massachusetts.
People on both the left and right must know of someone in their families who, without this health care bill, would be destitute and unable to receive treatment. Will people really pull a lever for a candidate who might take away a health benefit. Will the millions of baby boomers now in their mid 60s?
supreme prediction
I mentioned in a previous blog the family story about an acquaintance who announced that he "had a prediction to make" about a new television set. He told us who were trying to fix his set--in the days before cable--that the set would turn out to be "a helluva set."
I have a prediction to make about the Supreme Court decision that is to be announced in about two hours from this writing. It is NOT going to be a helluva decision. I think it is going to embarrass the Supreme Court and the country.
My belief in the integrity of the Supreme Court was first jostled during the shenanigans surrounding the 2000 Gore-Bush election. If you recall, the Florida supreme court--with a democratic majority--found in favor of what the Gore team desired. The US supreme court--with a republican majority--found in favor of what the Bush team desired. It was about this time when I started reconsidering the supreme court decisions in the past. With the exception of Brown vs. Board of Ed--and I am sure many others with which I am not familiar--it seemed to me that the Supreme Court has not been the dispassionate arbiters envisioned by a literal interpretation of the country's founding documents. Instead they like so many of us seem to have been motivated by personal agendas as opposed to even handed review of issues in the case.
I hope I am wrong, but I believe what we hear later today will reflect the politically fueled debate about health care, not the inherent merits of introducing "affordable health care." An irony, of course, is that even if the Supreme Court strikes down the obligation of citizens to purchase health care, my state will retain that requirement--a requirement that was put into effect and supported by the Republican candidate for president, then the governor of Massachusetts, who is currently riding the waves of his supporters who wish for the law to be eliminated.
My predictions are often wrong which, in this instance, will be a good thing.
I have a prediction to make about the Supreme Court decision that is to be announced in about two hours from this writing. It is NOT going to be a helluva decision. I think it is going to embarrass the Supreme Court and the country.
My belief in the integrity of the Supreme Court was first jostled during the shenanigans surrounding the 2000 Gore-Bush election. If you recall, the Florida supreme court--with a democratic majority--found in favor of what the Gore team desired. The US supreme court--with a republican majority--found in favor of what the Bush team desired. It was about this time when I started reconsidering the supreme court decisions in the past. With the exception of Brown vs. Board of Ed--and I am sure many others with which I am not familiar--it seemed to me that the Supreme Court has not been the dispassionate arbiters envisioned by a literal interpretation of the country's founding documents. Instead they like so many of us seem to have been motivated by personal agendas as opposed to even handed review of issues in the case.
I hope I am wrong, but I believe what we hear later today will reflect the politically fueled debate about health care, not the inherent merits of introducing "affordable health care." An irony, of course, is that even if the Supreme Court strikes down the obligation of citizens to purchase health care, my state will retain that requirement--a requirement that was put into effect and supported by the Republican candidate for president, then the governor of Massachusetts, who is currently riding the waves of his supporters who wish for the law to be eliminated.
My predictions are often wrong which, in this instance, will be a good thing.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Playoff Steps
In early 1985 after the University of Miami's stunning upset of Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, the coach of the Miami Hurricanes was interviewed while he was, nominally, coaching in a college all star game. The coach, Howard Shnellenberger, was asked if he supported a playoff system for division 1 college football. His answer was that it could be a good thing, but because of the bowl structure, "it will never happen in your lifetime."
I don't know the vintage of the interviewer, but it has happened and in my lifetime. It is a long time coming. Those who read my blogs know that I believe that the BCS which determines the champion in division 1 football (until 2014 when the new playoff system will begin) should remove the C to aptly describe its method.
What has happened and will happen again for the next two seasons is that a committee decided who were the two best teams to play for a championship. This eliminated the opportunity for teams to compete head to head on the field for the right to play for a championship.
The new system is better, but only marginally so. In the new system four teams will compete for the championship. These four teams will still be determined by a committee. Since there could easily be more than four teams with the exact same records, some teams with legitimate chances to be champions will be unable to compete for the championship. Six or Eight would seem to be a more reasonable number. In Division 1AA, 2, and 3, many more teams are invited to participate in the tournament.
Still, this is better than the absolutely meaningless end-of-season exhibition games that are currently played during the holidays. The argument that an increase in games will increase chances for injury--particularly concussions--can be addressed. The NCAA could simply reduce the number of regular season games. Typically division 1 teams play a division 1AA team during the season to sweeten records. These contests could be eliminated if concerns regarding injury are legitimate.
I don't know the vintage of the interviewer, but it has happened and in my lifetime. It is a long time coming. Those who read my blogs know that I believe that the BCS which determines the champion in division 1 football (until 2014 when the new playoff system will begin) should remove the C to aptly describe its method.
What has happened and will happen again for the next two seasons is that a committee decided who were the two best teams to play for a championship. This eliminated the opportunity for teams to compete head to head on the field for the right to play for a championship.
The new system is better, but only marginally so. In the new system four teams will compete for the championship. These four teams will still be determined by a committee. Since there could easily be more than four teams with the exact same records, some teams with legitimate chances to be champions will be unable to compete for the championship. Six or Eight would seem to be a more reasonable number. In Division 1AA, 2, and 3, many more teams are invited to participate in the tournament.
Still, this is better than the absolutely meaningless end-of-season exhibition games that are currently played during the holidays. The argument that an increase in games will increase chances for injury--particularly concussions--can be addressed. The NCAA could simply reduce the number of regular season games. Typically division 1 teams play a division 1AA team during the season to sweeten records. These contests could be eliminated if concerns regarding injury are legitimate.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Obama and Youk
Yesterday I wrote about Kevin Youkilis's last at-bat with the Red Sox. When he left the field for a pinch runner, he received a standing ovation from the Fenway crowd and hugs from his teammates. He was interviewed subsequently and said that it was the most intense emotional moment he had ever experienced on a ball field. This coming from a player who was on the field when the Red Sox won their last world series championship in 2007.
Last night President Obama was in town. He made two speeches at fund raisers, one steps away from where I work (and about 17,000 dollars a plate more expensive than my dinner fare), and the other not far from where I live. Somehow I did not receive an invitation to either event. An omission no doubt.
Presidents do not typically get booed at fund raising events. However, the President was booed in Boston last night by his supporters. The President as we now know spent years in Chicago as a community organizer before beginning his political career. During that time he became a fan of the Chicago White Sox.
In his introductory comments last night he thanked several people in the audience for their work with the party and for various actions that politicians often thank others for when they are beginning their talks. He concluded the round of appreciations by thanking the Boston Red Sox for trading Kevin Youkilis to his beloved White Sox.
At that point very well heeled and polished dignitaries started to boo the president. It was good natured of course. The President stammered and said he knew he shouldn't have talked about baseball in Boston. The crowd changed their boos to the appreciative chant that Red Sox fans used when Kevin Youkilis came to the plate; "YOOOOK" "YOOOOK" Interesting sounds from a group paying 17 grand a pop for rubber chicken and pound cake.
Last night there was a rain delay in the Boston Toronto game. After two hours, the game resumed at 1125 at which time I resumed watching the Sox lose to the Blue Jays 9-6. I will bet that when many of the Obama supporters returned home and took off their duds, they flipped on the tube to catch the last few innings of the game. I will also bet that more people in the 17K a pop audience know the nuances of the Red Sox lineup than the Obama health care plan.
Yook went 1 for 4 last night for the White Sox.
Last night President Obama was in town. He made two speeches at fund raisers, one steps away from where I work (and about 17,000 dollars a plate more expensive than my dinner fare), and the other not far from where I live. Somehow I did not receive an invitation to either event. An omission no doubt.
Presidents do not typically get booed at fund raising events. However, the President was booed in Boston last night by his supporters. The President as we now know spent years in Chicago as a community organizer before beginning his political career. During that time he became a fan of the Chicago White Sox.
In his introductory comments last night he thanked several people in the audience for their work with the party and for various actions that politicians often thank others for when they are beginning their talks. He concluded the round of appreciations by thanking the Boston Red Sox for trading Kevin Youkilis to his beloved White Sox.
At that point very well heeled and polished dignitaries started to boo the president. It was good natured of course. The President stammered and said he knew he shouldn't have talked about baseball in Boston. The crowd changed their boos to the appreciative chant that Red Sox fans used when Kevin Youkilis came to the plate; "YOOOOK" "YOOOOK" Interesting sounds from a group paying 17 grand a pop for rubber chicken and pound cake.
Last night there was a rain delay in the Boston Toronto game. After two hours, the game resumed at 1125 at which time I resumed watching the Sox lose to the Blue Jays 9-6. I will bet that when many of the Obama supporters returned home and took off their duds, they flipped on the tube to catch the last few innings of the game. I will also bet that more people in the 17K a pop audience know the nuances of the Red Sox lineup than the Obama health care plan.
Yook went 1 for 4 last night for the White Sox.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Private Lives
What a coincidence.
Yesterday there was an extra ticket to see the excellent production of Private Lives at Boston's Huntington Theatre. It was the last show of the run, a matinee. I grabbed the ticket and went.
The curtain goes up and the audience sees two adjacent balconies. Out comes one couple onto one of the balconies. They are apparently celebrating their honeymoon. The new wife asks the groom about his first marriage. Does she mean anything to him, etc. He denies any vestiges of emotion. The couple leaves the balcony and goes back into their room. Out comes another couple on the adjacent balcony. They too are on their honeymoon. The new husband asks the bride about her first husband. Does she retain any feelings? Absolutely not she maintains. They return to their room.
Out comes the husband from the first couple with a couple of drinks. The new wife has not yet entered. Out comes the wife from the second balcony. She brings out a couple of drinks. The new husband has not yet entered. A song from below brings the two to the railing of the balconies. The two see each. They're each the other's first spouse.
When they see each other, they are at once stunned. Then the passion of what they once had returns. What to do.
What a coincidence? Or not. Are such things meant to be? Is emotional connection a real force that we cannot yet explain.
Before yesterday's Red Sox/Braves game, the rumors were pervasive that Kevin Youkilis, an admired Red Sox player, would be traded. Youkilis batted in the 7th inning for what would be his last time. He hit a fly to the outfield that should have been an out. It wasn't. The outfielders misplayed it. Youkilis wound up standing at third with a triple. With a sense of the dramatic, the Red Sox manager sent a runner out for Youkilis. As Youkilis ran off the field, 37,000 fans at Fenway gave the player a standing ovation. It got, as they say, emotional. Players hugged "Youk" as he entered the dugout. The fans called out his name and he came out for an emotional goodbye.
What happens in Private Lives is what any person could predict. There are some forces that inexplicably (at least it is inexplicable in 2012) account for behavior and phenomena.
Yesterday there was an extra ticket to see the excellent production of Private Lives at Boston's Huntington Theatre. It was the last show of the run, a matinee. I grabbed the ticket and went.
The curtain goes up and the audience sees two adjacent balconies. Out comes one couple onto one of the balconies. They are apparently celebrating their honeymoon. The new wife asks the groom about his first marriage. Does she mean anything to him, etc. He denies any vestiges of emotion. The couple leaves the balcony and goes back into their room. Out comes another couple on the adjacent balcony. They too are on their honeymoon. The new husband asks the bride about her first husband. Does she retain any feelings? Absolutely not she maintains. They return to their room.
Out comes the husband from the first couple with a couple of drinks. The new wife has not yet entered. Out comes the wife from the second balcony. She brings out a couple of drinks. The new husband has not yet entered. A song from below brings the two to the railing of the balconies. The two see each. They're each the other's first spouse.
When they see each other, they are at once stunned. Then the passion of what they once had returns. What to do.
What a coincidence? Or not. Are such things meant to be? Is emotional connection a real force that we cannot yet explain.
Before yesterday's Red Sox/Braves game, the rumors were pervasive that Kevin Youkilis, an admired Red Sox player, would be traded. Youkilis batted in the 7th inning for what would be his last time. He hit a fly to the outfield that should have been an out. It wasn't. The outfielders misplayed it. Youkilis wound up standing at third with a triple. With a sense of the dramatic, the Red Sox manager sent a runner out for Youkilis. As Youkilis ran off the field, 37,000 fans at Fenway gave the player a standing ovation. It got, as they say, emotional. Players hugged "Youk" as he entered the dugout. The fans called out his name and he came out for an emotional goodbye.
What happens in Private Lives is what any person could predict. There are some forces that inexplicably (at least it is inexplicable in 2012) account for behavior and phenomena.
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