An observation about art

I suppose I've always known this: Very seldom is a work of art, especially in literature and writing, truly novel. As proof, consider the famous comedic line from the movie, "Young Frankenstein" by Mel Brooks: "Walk this way," spoken by the hunchback Igor to Frankenstein, after which Igor limps away followed by Frankenstein attempting to imitate the limp. Funny, eh? And unique? No, not at all.

The same sequence appeared four decades earlier in the movie "After the Thin Man," where Nick Charles (William Powell) is told by an aged butler to follow him ("walk this way") and thereupon shuffles into the drawing room, which Nick dutifully imitates. It's a scene funnier than Mel Brooks' copy, much more in tune with the story.

Why do I bring up this obscure fact? I have no idea, except that I felt like it in the moment, and I don't Tweet.

There is a God

or at least a god: The Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees in the American League playoffs to advance to the finals, sending the Yankees home, no longer in contention for a World Series title.

Another bike stolen

I returned to my condo this evening to see that my bike had been stolen from my carport sometime during the day. It was hidden from the adjacent street but I hadn't locked it because when I ride it locally (as I do often) it feels paranoid to lock it each time I return home. It wasn't a two-thousand dollar bike, but it was a good ride and I like the darned thing. And now it's gone. It's the second time I've lost a bike to theft. My previous bike was stolen off the back of my truck when I stopped at 7-11, momentarily, in Ukiah, California, on my way back to SB from a trip up north. I've also lost two laptops to theft from my car. That's four thefts, none inconsequential, in the last ten years.

You'd think I'd become more circumspect about securing my possessions on these accounts. But no. So far I've taken the position that we are good people, we humans, and don't do evil. But, damn it, I'm becoming jaundiced and, frankly, I'm growing tired of replacing these things. We're talking many hundreds of dollars over these years, not to speak of the pains in the ass(es).

So, I'm on Craigslist now, looking for a used bike to buy and, I must admit, there are many. Another reason I'm shopping: I might find my own bike for sale. If so, do you think the seller might give me a break on the price?

Reconstruction in Iraq, American style

If I hadn't been crying so hard while reading this article about our efforts to rebuild Iraq, I'd have been laughing.

Worst president ever

Herewith is a letter to the editor of the SB NewsPress that I sent today. I'll update this post if/when it's published.

Update: The letter was published on September 24, 2011.

Several liberal bloggers and essayists predict that an “Arab spring” will soon come to America: that after three years of Democrats’ (read Obama’s) failures (1) to rein in the excesses of wealthy traders and profiteering corporations; (2) to support the needs of the poor and middle class for jobs and decent incomes; and (3) to end Bush’s wars and egregious violations of our privacy, a mass of disaffected Obama voters (acronym: a D.O.V. movement) will take to the streets to force their representatives to fundamentally change America’s international and domestic policies.

To which predictions I reply: LOL. Americans are too chained to cable TV and Internet connections; too stressed by falling values of their homes and retirement accounts; too fixated on consumption and maintaining incomes to support that consumption. No, the time for an American “Arab spring” has passed; its people are too cowed, too lost in the maze of distractions created by those in power: power over our finance, our media, our governance.

The most Americans can hope for is that our inevitable decline ends in a soft landing. And the most Obama can hope for after his single term as president is that, having presided over the demolition of the hopes and aspirations of his constituents—traditional progressives and, most appallingly, minorities and the youth—by his repudiation of his campaign promises, he ends up being second on the “worst president ever” list, behind only Harrison, who died after thirty days in office.

Handwriting on the wall

As long ago as during the months before the general election, Obama revealed himself to be the "political hack" that the McCain campaign termed him. So, why are we progressives surprised at the nature of his governance, to wit, doing anything and everything necessary to be re-elected.

My favorite line from this essay

about Obama's "jobs" speech is near the end: "Republicans have never had such an effective lackey."

This morning's Yahoo! News front page is covered with stories about "jobs": Obama's upcoming speech, the Republican candidates' debate, the impact of job loss on all segments of our economy, etc. But the theme of all stories is that Obama must come up with a plan in his speech that solves the problem.

What a crock! First of all, a speech isn't going to solve anything. Laws and policies and human conduct are. Second, where's Congress in this? They pass the laws and deal with domestic economic issues, not the President. He's paramount in foreign affairs (somewhat) but domestic issues are to be dealt with by the legislative branch of government. Third, it's more than a year until the election, but the stories all deal with the political issues--who's leading in the polls; what Obama "must say to turn the tables on the Republicans"; who's at fault for the persistent economic doldrums, etc.

I'm tired of all this, so much so that I'm not going to watch the President's speech tonight, just as I didn't watch the Republican candidates' debate last night. Fuck 'em all.

Everything you need to know about our militarist empire

is found in this excellent interview, that summarizes five important books on the subject.

The digitalized novel

An interesting, incisive essay about the value of the hardcopy version of long fiction. The significance of the codex form of presentation vs. the serial presentation of the electronic tablet. To this analysis, there's this: If you drop a book on the floor, you can pick it up, leaf to the place you left off and keep reading, no doubt; with a Kindle-like device, maybe not.

Getting the bumper-sticker slogans ready

After Obama's latest outrage--scrapping EPA's proposed smog regulations--I'm more certain than ever the man doesn't deserve re-election. I've proposed in previous posts the creation of a DOV movement, realizing, however, that he'll doubtless be the Democratic nominee. But at least I can have some fun with this campaign, proposing slogans for the bumpers of Progressives' vehicles. How about these?
(1) Don't impeach Obama, ignore him.
(2) Obama--2012! ...Whatever.
I came up with a third slogan yesterday, but can't recall it right now. I'll supplement this post when I come up with it.

Supplements:

(1) Don't blame Progressives--It's not our B.O.
(2) With friends like Obama ___ ___ ___?

Your slogans?

Across the pond

their foreign intelligence leaders seem to be both wiser and, if it needs to be said, of a different gender from ours.

An interesting idea that would deal with two huge American problems

dealing with the government financial deficit and obesity at the same time.

My favorite television show

hands down is Big Cat Diary.

An idea whose time has come

Some months ago (I posted on this blog about it, but because I'm too lazy to tag my blog entries, you'll have to trust me on this) I had the idea of starting a new political party, or at least a new movement, entitled the DOV party, for "disaffected Obama voters." Actually, because the "D" could stand for everything from "disappointed" to "distressed" to "disgruntled" and so on, I reasoned that it was an appropriate acronym for a large category of voters, a big enough tent to attract some attention, even, perhaps, to wield some clout.

Well, I didn't act on the idea (the laziness thing operative again) but now I just might. I mean, there have been plenty of articles -- the most recent one being here -- that discuss how Obama's failures and his rightward shifts have caused his base to question both his political bent and his competence. Trouble is, "disaffected" and such-like terms don't capture all facets of the effect of Obama's conduct as president. It leaves out the recurring theme of essays on the subject, namely, that former Obama supporters will, however reluctantly, vote for the man because they have "nowhere else to go."

And so, what about this: DOV--meaning, in addition to all else, "Disenfranchised Obama Voters"?

A must read

for anyone who wants to understand Gorbachev, his rise, his fall and his legacy. To me, a monumental and positive force in the last half of the twentieth century, along with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Matt Damon for President

In case you're keeping track, you heard it here (scroll down a few posts) before you heard it here.

An amendment--an addition--to my previous post

urging Matt Damon for President ("You heard it here first"), adding Warren Buffet as his running mate.

A movie recommendation

From director Carol Reed ("The Third Man"), a relatively obscure film, "Odd Man Out," available streaming from Netflix. Fabulous black and white cinematography, street scenes of Belfast in the forties. Throughout the movie, I kept wondering, How'd they do that?

Priceless

Literally so, because George Carlin is dead. Must see video.