Would I?

...............get more responses to my posts if I brightened up the backdrop?

Palin in Peoria

1. My first inclination is to cringe. After that I begin to realize that celebrity draw has nothing at all to do with political prowess, and that celebrity draw trumps ignorance on all levels. Palin is the spokesperson for this reality by example. It doesn't matter what she says, how she says it or where she speaks as long as the curious, the enamored, the fans, fill the seats. It is easy to play political spokesperson when you carry no political risk- Limbaugh, Matthews, left, right- doesn't matter. Palin quit her day job to garner celebrity. Her Worhol 15 minutes have stretched ad nauseum. It scares hell out of me that her aspirations run from the presidency to a daytime talk show- whatever falls in place. With all the problems facing our government, our country, the world, I guess my last inclination is to cringe- at the thought that a woman who probably can't balance her own checkbook could preside over it all.

Birthday Fun in Chicago

Now I am 52. Not really a milestone age, just a year older than 51. Still, due to the always thoughtful diligence of Amy, another great birthday has swept into the past. We drove up to Chicago Friday, punched into the "W" hotel downtown, took the train to Murphy's in the burbs (Forest Park) and caught "Drivetrain" until 2:30 am. Haven't heard them for months- serious fun. Nick returned us to downtown, we slept in, visited the Field Museum (didn't see Ben Stiller), hooked up with Nick and dined at a great steakhouse (Rosebud's?)- a birthday gift from Nick (over and beyond, I'll be addressing that). Cabbed to Nick's place in Wicker Park, checked out his 17" Mac laptop (ugh!), trained back to the "W", hit the road home on Sunday. All in all, a great respite for a couple of days. I have a great family.

Home Alone

For the last week and a half, I have been without my spouse, who is visiting our daughter, son-in-law and grandson in Dallas. Not a lot to say about that. Sucks. 'Bout sums it up.

Mood Haberdashery

Don't believe for an instant that I wear a hat. I'm not a baseball cap sort of guy, nor stocking cap, beret, fedora or cowboy. I simply prefer hoods. Hats make my head itch. Making that clear, I wear all sorts of hats. Depending on my state of mind, my head coverings, though symbolic, represent an array far exceeding any less spectacular physical cap in existence. Run the emotional gamut from joy to rage and you'll sense my mood from white to red, though way, way beyond the limitations of physical color. While I can't fully explain my cornucopial psyche in technicolor, let it be known that my mind knows what it's thinking and my reaction relates the thoughts. Blue mood. Red rage, pastel passivity, yellow.......... well, I don't really know what yellow represents- canaries? Some might see purple rage- I see grape. Colors from the spectrum lay out a weak representation for emotional content and hats do little more than give a lame example of the same. A black ski mask might suggest different symbolism from one to the next. A blue beret has little meaning to me, but might influence another. A Nazi helmet with a bullet hole it it will always procure positive connotations in my mind, and a dirty girl scout cap will always cause me to worry. If I find one on my head, I'm certain to be REALLY worried. Nuff said.

I'm Back!

Just a reminder that my new year's resolution did not include not posting on this blog. JUST YOU WAIT! (and not for long)

New Year, New Year

For those of you insulated from the cold, the recession, the job losses, the war thing(s), Tiger Woods, the benching of Payton Manning, girl's basketball at St. Vincent's, our dumped governor, Stephen King's 1,100 page book, kooks taking up their own plan to kill and terrorize in the name of al qaeda, probably unknown to them, Mayweather's ploy to sabotage a fight he's scared to make, Downey Jr.'s brilliance, Tasmanian Devil's fight with cancer (yes).........yada, yada, yada..................... consider this your year to find the time in your busy lives to collect diverse information from around the world. Make what's happening out there part of your collected intelligence. Then you can consider yourselves a part of it. Awareness can prohibit the rise of ignorance. Don't turn from events that you believe have nothing to do with you. The only way to really survive in this world is to know it. Otherwise, like voting, if you don't, you affect nothing, and as a result you're simply a supplicant. Either be aware, be involved or be nothing.