Update and pictures

It's been a busy time, so here's a brief update and some pictures.

... I went to the Nuggets' playoff game five last week and sat three rows from the court with Book. We watched the Nuggets scrap for a victory, but unfortunately they succumbed to the Jazz in game 6. I hate early ends to an NBA playoff run.

I was not, however, surprised that they lost game 6. That's because I got to see up close just how banged up that team was. Birdman could barely walk up and down the court and K-Mart was favoring a knee pretty significantly. We also got to watch Nene go down with a sprain.

We also got to watch acting-zombie-coach Adrian Dantley prove you can actually sleepwalk through a playoff series. It's true!

So bitter.

... My cousin Anna's wedding was a lot of fun, and Jacob danced like a kid possessed in front of everyone. He was even sliding on his knees like Tom Cruise in Risky Business. Of course, he had just come from a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheeses, so he had sugar to burn.

... I've read 16 books so far and have 8 more to go. My pace will slow because I'm going to tackle some really long ones.

... I've been sick with a cough for about two weeks, meaning no exercycle for me, which stinks. I can't hardly go up stairs without coughing and I'm tired of it.

... I hit a bit of a lag on my short story, but I have gotten feedback from several folks, so I have no excuse. I will try hard to get that draft done soon.

... Mad Men is an awesome show and I'm tearing through it.

... I was reminded tonight just how many people love to rain on parades. The trick is to not let them ruin it. I think a show of joy in spite of rain is the perfect way to get back at them.


Pictures!

Lost Cause and Hitler signs

Sometimes I think history has already changed.

I don't know when it may have happened officially, but there must have been a meeting (probably several), and some of us were left out.

Tomorrow marks tax day as well as the middle of Confederate History Month in Virginia, my former home. Tomorrow I will have to drive past people angry about doing their share, ignore their Hitler signs and continue to hold the line on the history I was taught.

Maybe I was too busy to notice, but somehow history has become debatable. Somewhere along the line, the notion that slavery was the central issue of the Civil War now inspires eye rolling. It's become bleeding heart to mention it. Somehow, FDR's New Deal now apparently made the Depression worse. To suggest otherwise is apparently "socialist."

I don't mean to sound elite (and I do like an occasional latte), but such notions are foolish. And, if anyone wants to wave the stars and bars (and it has nothing to do with the Dukes of Hazard), I cannot take that person seriously.

I understand that facts create dissonance and that the natural human response is to create consonance through rationalization, but this is getting ridiculous. Rationalization isn't supposed to take the form of revisionist history.

The Civil War was absolutely about states rights... to own slaves. The second part of the sentence matters. There were other states rights issues to be sure, but the slavery issue more than any other inspired war. It was one of the few actual manifestations of a domino effect. The Dred Scott case, debate about whether new states could allow slavery, the drawing of a line in the sand and the threat of the destruction of Southern economies without free labor all piled up. Loss of slavery meant loss of their way of life and economy and they chose to fight for that and not for morality.

But, we often forget that the Civil War clearly proved that the whole is greater than separate parts. Union trumps bickering factions every time. Any Civil War book will explain how keeping Southern "independent" states marching together was like herding cats. As a result, they lost the war, and, yes, that is a good thing.

All that aside, the South was against morality by attempting to preserve bondage for an entire race. Whatever conservative ideology people today may wish to bestow upon that part of history, it cannot be separated from slavery. It just can't.

Slavery is our nation's original sin. It is forever marked on our country by a scar that even appears on our Constitution, which specifically forbade any discussion of the slavery question until 1808.

The scar is still so fresh that there are people still active in the workforce today who went to segregated schools. A speaker at the March on Washington, where MLK described his dream, still serves in Congress. His name is John Lewis and he was beaten to within an inch of his life in Selma, Alabama. He still serves in Congress and the man who beat him still lives.

Here is a taste of Mr. Lewis at the DNC in 2008 (I was there).





The scar is still so fresh that a regional section of a generation still in the workforce went to segregated schools and drank from segregated water fountains. Its time to stop trying to minimize race when we talk about our nation.

The same rationalization of ideology led to the denigration of the New Deal even though my great-grandfather and great-grandmother praised FDR for saving their family until the day each died. Now that they aren't here anymore, people convince themselves of whatever is convenient.

The same rationalization caused Texas to change its school history books to exclude Thomas Jefferson from "enlightened thinkers" (!!!) and to flip-flop the amount of coverage given to FDR and Ronald Reagan despite the obvious difference in level of influence.

Never more has the following phrase seemed more timely: "You are entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts."

Birthday Present

On what would have been my father's 61st birthday, health care reform (by all appearances) plunged past the tipping point on its journey to reality.

Let the complaining begin, but I'll be too busy celebrating to notice.

I started thinking about the magic number 61 last night, and it was my short break from obsessing over the health care vote tally. And, just as I was starting to get tired of being sad on March 18, the yes votes started to trickle home. Some might take such timing as a sign, but I'll be glad to accept it as a happy coincidence.

I will also begin preparations to halt worry that my high blood pressure will always prevent me from obtaining any kind of meaningful insurance. But, alas, I will always have to check the box about a parent who died on or before the age of 55. Just one more year would have been nice.

Dad talked about health care reform in his typical far-ranging ways back in the day. By that, I mean I had heard him at times concern himself with the fear of "socialized medicine," but I also heard him absolutely fume over insurance companies that found ways to not cover his patients.

As usual, I really couldn't pin his position down. But, I know my position, and I will celebrate when the vote comes down on Sunday. I can't prove it, but I think dad would be happy about this as well.

Dad would have liked it that children could remain on their parents' insurance until the age 26. I know this because of how intensely he worried about any of us going a single day without coverage. When I transitioned from his insurance to my own as a student, he was adament that I not even risk one day of non-coverage. He said something to the effect of, "what if that's the day you learn the wrong thing and it becomes pre-existing?So, he knew the insurance game.

Obviously, he would like that pre-existing conditions will no longer stop people from being covered. The prohibition against removing coverage when a patient is sick? Only a jackass would be against that. Or someone in the video below:



I think dad would have frowned on anyone who would treat one of his patients like the man in this video was treated. I know that because he cared about his patients. And because he was not an asshole.

I could never imagine dad being against providing coverage to 30 million more people.

Despite clear signs that the Democratic Party strongly considered making a back-breaking, goal-line fumble in its march to the end game, health care reform (appears) a done deal. Apparently, the powers that be realized that failure to bring this bill home for want of a better one would lead to either never having reform or having the kind of free-market based reform that leads to the exact problems plaguing the whole industry today.

Somehow, cats managed to march in unison behind what I can only imagine to be otherworldly forces... or political catnip, I guess. Really, this is a two-pronged miracle. First, it's a miracle the vote was this close a call considering the huge numerical advantage held by the Democratic party. Second, it was a major miracle that they still didn't screw this up.

I would like to thank the President for his leadership on this issue and his steely-resolve (almost Republican-like in its Machiavellian qualities). I would also like to thank Betsy Markey for her (announced) vote in favor of reform. If you remember, I blogged about my conversation with her about this. True to her word, she was there when it mattered.

Nothing is perfect, and neither is this bill. But time matters, and we just couldn't wait any longer. Afterall, with death as permanent as it is and all, why not act now?

Happy Birthday, dad. I hope you liked your present.

*** UPDATE TO THIS POST.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the coming of age of our President. Barack Obama has been in office for over a year, but this victory has cemented him as THE PRESIDENT. He's made the leap. The wide eyes have narrowed. The brow has furrowed. He's got this! Watch this video and see for yourself what leadership can look like.

Of Politics and Wrestling

I just finished reading Game Change about the 2008 Presidential election and I was struck by how similar the world of politics is to the world of professional wrestling. And soap operas. I loved every page of the book, but felt mildly dirty for enjoying it.

A majority of the book deals with the Democratic primaries for obvious reasons. The Democrats had a much longer and more intense fight for the party's nomination. The book focuses on the three top candidates: Obama, Clinton and John Edwards. It also breaks down the Republican primary and the general, but the Democratic primary took the majority.

The reason this book made me think of professional wrestling is not simply my recent reading of Hitman. I thought of wrestling because of how much of campaigning is BS and how both sides of a given story KNOW it's BS, yet turn the political knife anyway. For example, in the general election between Obama and McCain, the book stated unequivocally that the McCain campaign knew darn well that Obama's famous "lipstick on a pig" comment had nothing to do with Sarah Palin. They demanded an apology to court Hillary supporters and women in general and to put the Obama campaign on the defensive. I single this story out because of how explicitly the book stated that no one in the McCain camp actually thought Obama meant Palin. I must mention, that Republicans certainly were not alone in this tactic.

Each campaign would be both embarrassed and flattered by its portrayal in this book. There were tales of opportunism, brilliance and underhandedness everywhere and no campaign was spared. The Obama campaign looked the best, but was clearly not immune from playing in the mud.

Some observations:

-- I was shocked that the title of "craziest person" in any campaign was not won by the odds-on favorites (Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin in whatever order), but rather by Elizabeth Edwards. This shocked me because I never saw Mrs. Edwards as a candidate in the race for nut-job of the campaign season. Trust me when I say it took a cancer diagnosis for anyone associated with the Edwards campaign to feel a twinge of sympathy for her. Of course, it's not every day that a multi-millionaire angrily threatens to suspend the health insurance of all campaign workers until hers is secured. Even less predictable would be someone doing so on a national call attended by many of the lowest paid / hardest working organizers hitting the pavement. Multi-millionaires also do not often expose themselves while in an argument. Like I said, it wasn't even close.

(Just a few more Elizabeth stories because I can't resist: She called John a "hick" in front of other people and derided his parents as rednecks; and She laughed at the idea that John would read a book and claimed to be the smart one.)

-- Bill Clinton is a hothead, but he appreciates evil genius even when he's the victim. When the Obama campaign called him on his reference to Jesse Jackson winning South Carolina, clearly implying something, Clinton was now portrayed as a racist, at least by implication. The book says that "though it infuriated (Clinton), he could not help but respect the artfulness of the play... I wish our people were more like that, Bill said." He's an angry, bitter man, but he appreciates a good move. Of course Bill also said the Ted Kennedy: "the only reason you're endorsing him is because he's black. Let's just be clear." So, it's not like Bill didn't give the Obama camp any openings.

-- With whom did Clinton counsel about being essentially called a racist? George W. Bush. Clinton bitched to W about the betrayals he suffered for 15 minutes and W said "I know you aren't a racist." This was like seeing King Kong Bundy and Hulk Hogan laughing over a few beers at a local pub in the mid 80s or something. This is why wrestling is more like politics than we'd like to admit. They play up the hatred in public, but they're all just colleagues behind the scenes. W and Bill apparently talked "more often than almost anyone knew" during W's reign. THE CURTAIN HAS BEEN LIFTED! I mean... what can I possibly add? Talk about breaking the fourth wall. We are all being had.

-- Obama is absolutely as cool as the other side of the pillow, just as commonly perceived. His best quote was before his 2004 keynote address at the DNC nominating Kerry. "I'm LeBron, baby. I can play on this level. I got some game." Another was before his first debate with McCain when he calmed one nervous aid by putting his hand on her shoulder and saying calmly one-hour before go-time "Don't worry. I got this." Obama seemed to never let anger rattle him, but he was portrayed as whiny regarding the rigorous schedule and could be passive-aggressive. Still, he is the only one who seemed genuinely loved by his staff.

-- Hillary avoids conflict like the plague when dealing with individuals and yet is prone to fits of anger at her staff as a whole. She also does nothing to diffuse internal problems and tends to let them simmer. Her and Bill held a deep belief that the press was in the tank for Obama (which is probably true) and a never-ending suspicion of foul play. Even after it was all over they were both convinced Obama bused people into Iowa from Illinois.

-- The second-place finisher for crazy person of the campaign is actually Judi Giuliani, and she was only second because she was mentioned so infrequently. But, stories of her instability were potent, if brief. She had worked for a medical supply firm that exterminated puppies as part of its sales demonstration. That's right, she somehow was linked to puppy murder. You can't make this stuff up. Her only response was that it was a long time ago and she couldn't remember her involvement. I would think one would know if one was or was not involved in the murder of puppies. Had Rudy been a bigger threat to win, her stories would have been the highlight of the book.

(Giuliani had to answer her cell phone calls EVEN IF IN THE MIDDLE OF A SPEECH - and he did - because, in his words "it's a lot better that way." I am not kidding, she finishes second.)

-- Sarah Palin's lack of preparation, absence of mental curiosity and basic inability to grasp ground-level concepts actually and literally frightened McCain's staff. Preparing her for the debate took on the kind of prep work normally reserved for moon landings and her "success" at parroting the talking points they made her memorize (and calling Biden "Joe" because she could NOT stop calling him Obiden in rehearsal) was celebrated as a major accomplishment. The fact she may be third on the crazy chart is a testament to Elizabeth and Judi and should not be seen as a vindication of Sarahcuda. McCain advisers actually surreptitiously had her monitored by a doctor to see if she was "mentally unstable."

(It should be noted that Bill Clinton is easily the third-craziest spouse and gives Palin a run for her money. His clear edge in brain power puts him fourth behind Palin, but it's closer than one would think).

-- Huckabee actually questioned whether Romney had a soul. Coming from a former pastor, that made me chuckle.

-- Lindsay Graham, John McCain and Joe Lieberman could not stop watching the Youtube video of John Edwards fixing his hair. They watched it over and over and laughed until they had tears in their eyes. "Let's look at it again!" McCain would command. Again, this made me chuckle.

-- Obama's amazing ability to put the bitterness of the primary campaign was awe-inspiring. He was literally the only one of his entire staff (including Michelle) who was willing to give Hillary a position in the administration. His reasoning? "She's going to be really good at this job." He would not take "No" for an answer and made a compelling case to Hillary. He told her that the economy was going to command his focus and he would require someone to hold down the foreign policy part of things. He said she was the only one he could really trust to do this. After reading all the amazing battles their campaigns fought, this is nothing short of amazing and made me think of Team of Rivals and how Lincoln kept back-stabbing rival Soloman Chase around because he was such a good Treasury Secretary. All he cared is that she would be the best person for the job. Same with Biden for VP.

So, there you have it. Campaigning is a business, it is entertaining, it involves steel chairs upon the heads of unsuspecting victims and they all end up having beers together in the end. It's like I read the Hitman book all over again. And, just like a wrestling book, it feels like a guilty pleasure or like I got caught watching a soap opera. I loved this book, and that makes me feel dirty.

A Heartbreaking Work

I just finished Dave Eggers' book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. It's one heck of a book, and heartbreaking is certainly a good description of it.

The book is a biopic about the author and his little brother. Their parents both die within a short time and Eggers has to raise his much younger brother. They are 21 and 9, which leads to exactly the kinds of house rules one would imagine.

This book was very well written and, most unique, the story was creatively told. The book hit home a bit, and will do so for anyone who has lived through a traumatic family death.

Eggers used a unique voice throughout, and he really made the story interesting even when fairly mundane events were taking place. Sometimes, the story is the feeling, rather than the events. This book is an early favorite for top-5 of the year. This year may be my toughest decision yet as to top five.

I feel obligated to put Churchill #1 if for no other reason that it was like living history and because it is the only first hand account I will read this year about probably the most important time in modern history. Yet, from pure enjoyment (Eggers' work) to life lessons (Predictably Irrational), I could put any number of those at number 1. Eggers will have to strive for number two, and its a dead heat. From pure joy of reading, Eggers wins. Time to let the decision simmer for awhile.

OTHER UPDATES

... I am working diligently on my story and am up to 12 pages or so. I have mapped much of the story and feel like I it will probably be about 30 pages when done. I have completed the back stories of three characters, and need to complete two more as well as the "event" at the end.

... We went sledding last week, and I have some pictures below. Jacob went down the hill about three times before deciding he would rather just run down the hill. I also threw in some more pictures that we have taken since Christmas. Enjoy.

Playing with Mom's Clarinet

Jacob and Maerron

Running down the hill

Posing in the cold

All bundled up

My Jen

Helping Dad Shovel

Mom and Jacob

Shoveling

Ego Maniac

As I write this, I'm keeping tabs on the Nuggets vs. Cleveland game. It just went into overtime. I am also awaiting Jacob's bedtime so I can relax with a blu-ray movie. Maybe Dark Knight... maybe Star Trek. It's a nice relaxing evening.

Anyway, I just finished book number six on the year, and it again pushed my interest in behavioral science (specifically dissonance theory) to new heights. We have all taken an introductory course in psychology or sociology that mentioned the "ego" and the "super ego," and we have all mocked such things incessantly. I know I have.

I'm not real big into Freud or anything of that nature, but I am quickly taking a liking to cognitive dissonance. The two books that set my fire most recently are "Mistakes were Made (but not by me)" and "Predictably Irrational."

Although neither book expresses ideas of the Super ego, they do illustrate that our perceptions of ourselves justify our actions. At times, even irrationally.

The theory, in short, is that we have an opinion of ourselves; actions happen that challenge that view of ourselves (we appear to have been less than honest, as an example); this creates discomfort to us; we use justifications to restore our notion of who we are; and, this rarely leads to admissions of mistakes. This can also explain why person already standing in a deep hole can somehow manage to dig deeper. This is done with what I'll call the "self-justification Shovel."

I love books that help me on a daily basis, and both of these titles do just that.

This may sound like a justification for manipulation, but it also taught me how to better recognize dissonance in myself and others and how to "influence" a person to feeling consonance (comfort), which lessens the need for self-justification.

(Carmelo Anthony just hit the game winner in the face of LeBron James. I am now pumped. Justify that LeBron!!).

OTHER UPDATES

.... Now that my reading pace has taken me through March, I have created the space necessary to make a real push for a first draft of my story. I have pushed forward and written another 5 or 6 pages, and I have done a lot more mapping. Now is my big writing push.

.... Jacob has been doing well. He's as playful as ever. We have decided to take more pictures and I will try to post some soon.

.... I am tired of this winter.

Book Report

I posted this at my book blog, but I'll repost it here since I've been too busy trying to write my story to blog as must as usual. I just finished book 4 on the year and am currently reading two more while I plod through my story.

This one is about pro wrestling:

Approximately once a year, I have a weird craving to relive the old days when I watched pro wrestling as a kid. We even once organized "viewings" of Wrestlemanias I through III at rotating locations within the last few years. (I will spare naming all involved in this delicious travesty of taste.)

This makes me neither proud nor ashamed. It really just amuses me.

I don't watch wrestling today. I don't enjoy what it has become. Hell, I laugh at 80s wrestling today and enjoy it now for very different (mostly mocking and nostalgic) reasons. But, for the second year in a row, I read a book about old-school wrestling from the days of my youth. This year, I read "Hitman," by Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

Ironically, I used to hate Bret Hart and his evil Hart Foundation. I loved the British Bulldogs, who were arch rivals with the Hart Foundation.

"Hitman" is a great book. It takes you into the "cartoon" world of pro wrestling. I learned a lot about the history of wrestling, and, most interesting, how it works behind the scenes. Hart takes the position that the wrestling business grinds its workers up and spits them out. I think there is some truth to that, but that there is also a tendency for unstable people to explore such a career. There is definitely truth in both perspectives.

The stories are funny, depressing, strange and just odd at times. I recommend reading this book near a computer so you can youtube the various matches he describes in detail. For example, I watched Hart take the kick to the head that ended his career. I also watched the online footage of the "Montreal Screwjob," complete with Vince McMahon wobbling out of the locker room after being knocked silly by Hart.

Although the "Montreal Screwjob" has been a source of great sympathy for Hart, I actually began to think of how Hart may have put himself over a little too well in the book. My take: A promoter has to deal with moody, roided up alpha-males on a regular basis. He has a business to run and didn't get rich by letting wrestlers who decided to go to his rival (WCW) while champion keep the belt and march out triumphant. Promoter lies (not OK, but also... well, Hart makes it clear wrestlers are a bit moody and difficult) and screws over his champion. In the process he damages the goods being received by the rival and collects enough checks to more than pay for the broken jaw.

Pardon my sarcasm, but being "screwed" out of a title defense while 1) leaving the company and 2) ITS STAGED didn't garner as much sympathy from me as I know others feel about this incident. Sorry, but he was 5 time champ because that got ratings. He was a good "wrestler" in that he preformed well, but popularity is what mattered. Stuff happens.

Most interesting to me were the stories of what some of my favorites were like behind the scenes. Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, Dynamite Kid, etc. I also loved the stories of the road and all the ribbing. Just kinda guy stories. It was a fun book, but I can't get all broken up about losing a belt that changes hands based on projected ratings draws. Shoot me.

As for steroids, Hart basically makes the strong case that a career would be over without them for someone of his stature (he wasn't exactly a giant). I took this to mean he simply used the "recommended" dosage. It was that or a different career... he rolled the dice and got rich. He only mentions it once when he decided to do it and never again brings it up, although its implied he was on them his whole career (never explicitly says so, though). He later confuses his own use by suggesting he was a desired champ because he wasn't a roided up freak like so many others at a time when people were angry about steroids. I guess its appropriate my next book is about self-justification.

Overall, a fun read. Much longer than expected, and he has some points to make. Much like actual wrestling shows, it's like reading 500 pages of one long description of a train wreck. You see all the twisted metal and all the carnage vividly after reading this book.