A number of people keep askig my opinion, mostly because I'm the only guy that went to Notre Dame they know, I suppose.
Frankly, I would have prefered if they didn't ask him. But once they did, I would prefer that the protests be a lot less... noisy.
See, I remember when they protested President Reagan there, too. Equal opportunity, I suppose.
It does strike me as wrong for the nation's leading Catholic university to honor a man who is pretty much against two big issues in the church - stem cells and abortion. Frankly, I don't care whether you agree or not. The point being, if you are going to stand for something, then by God stand for something! If the Church is against abortion, then stand up for that position! (Heck, if the Church were FOR abortion, I'd feel the same way - at least remain consistent!)
I forget her name right now, but the recipient of Laetare Medal, a high honor from ND, turned down the award because she'd have to appear and give legitimacy to Barack Obama, which she didn't want to do. Again, whether or not you agree is not the issue. It's that a woman chose to quietly make a stand, and for the first time since 1880-something there will not be a Medal awarded this year. That's standing up for your beliefs.
But, you say, aren't the protestors standing up for their beliefs? That abortion is murder?
Well, yes - and I have no problem with people quietly protesting, or deciding to simply not attend (as did the local bishop and 88 other bishops). I think people should be reasonable and not out to wave signs with aborted babies on them or some such - that does their cause more harm than good, IMHO.
Of course, if people were reasonable - there's a very big if.
Course, that kind of ruins the idea behind the protesting, which I get, but... I still wish people could be a little more reasonable about such things.
Frankly, I believe ND blew it when they extended the invitation. What on earth were they thinking? to "score' a big commencement speaker?
Well, they did get him to come and speak, but they also honored him with a degree.
I maintain that the "preeminent Catholic university in the land" ought to at least try to stick to promoting Catholic doctrine. It's a Catholic university - one of only a relative few. There are plenty of schools which could give a degree to President Obama (note - he spoke at Arizona State, and THEY didn't give him a degree!).
In short ( a tad late, I know) I'm not quite ashamed of ND, but I do question their judgement.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
OK - so I saw Star Trek last night...
I really enjoyed the new Star Trek movie, presented in IMAX.
Truth to tell, I couldn't really tell, other than it was one helluva big screen, what made it IMAX, but that's just quibbling I suppose. It was worth the fourteen (!) bucks.
All the time travel -alternate universe stuff was a little difficult to follow - I'm glad (for once) that I had read someone's review and they mentioned that time travel was involved.
I also wasn't clear on whether Uhura had a Super Power of mind-blowing Telepathy and Super-Hearing, or just was plugged into the right channels.
And I wasn't too clear on why lil' Kirk was out driving a Corvette in the desert, in Iowa (Idaho?). I mean, did we really need to see that to know he's a bit irresponsible?
Seriously,those are my only three quibbles about the film. The rest - 98.99999%! - I enjoyed immensely.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
(As if I haven't already ruined the film somewhat)
Boy, just so many good scenes. Bones and Kirk being such good friends, Spock and Kirk being such not-good friends (he puts him on a pod and rockets him to nowheresville? That I'd call "not-good"). Scotty's fun-loving attitude. Uhuru's take-charge I'm on the Enterprise talk. Heck, Uhuru kissing Spock. Several times.
The guys space-diving onto the drill. The rescue of Captain Pike (as opposed to, say, Captain Carp or Captain Sunfish). Spock and Kirk teleporting in to the "deserted" landing bay (and subsequent poom poom shooting gallery!). Vulcan biting the big one! The difficulty of transporting people - you have to lock on to them and they can't be moving around!
The spaceship battles! The sword-fighting battle! Kirk getting repeatedly pasted, over and over! (Waitaminute...)
At first, I admit, each time a character appeared it was kind of a shock, seeing someone else play the roles. But then, it only lasted a couple of minutes, tops. This guy IS James T. Kirk, that guy IS Spock, that other guy IS Scotty...
Frankly, the entire cast really was excellent. Even Chekov's funny pronounciations were funny! The movie was funny where it had to be, serious where it had to be... overall, a great time!
And Leonard Nimoy, who, I admit, I never really cared for that much (actually, I never really cared much for any of them except for Bones and Scotty, and that was probably because I had met them once or thrice and was really impressed... ah, let's face it, I never really cared that much for Star Trek at all, in any incarnation. Sure, I watched Next Gen on occasion, but I never really CARED about them the way I did for, say, Star Wars' original cast.)
Well, consider that problem solved.
I really enjoyed Spock as a kind of rebellious bad-ass, Scotty as kind of a drunk (though not actually so) fun loving Scotsman, Kirk as the kind of smart-aleck that you'd want to punch real hard if he'd just stop backing it up!, Uhuru as a take-charge kind of gal... I just loved the whole movie!
I even liked the updates to the uniforms - kind of grew on me after awhile.
And I SO want there to be more adventures!
Truth to tell, I couldn't really tell, other than it was one helluva big screen, what made it IMAX, but that's just quibbling I suppose. It was worth the fourteen (!) bucks.
All the time travel -alternate universe stuff was a little difficult to follow - I'm glad (for once) that I had read someone's review and they mentioned that time travel was involved.
I also wasn't clear on whether Uhura had a Super Power of mind-blowing Telepathy and Super-Hearing, or just was plugged into the right channels.
And I wasn't too clear on why lil' Kirk was out driving a Corvette in the desert, in Iowa (Idaho?). I mean, did we really need to see that to know he's a bit irresponsible?
Seriously,those are my only three quibbles about the film. The rest - 98.99999%! - I enjoyed immensely.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
(As if I haven't already ruined the film somewhat)
Boy, just so many good scenes. Bones and Kirk being such good friends, Spock and Kirk being such not-good friends (he puts him on a pod and rockets him to nowheresville? That I'd call "not-good"). Scotty's fun-loving attitude. Uhuru's take-charge I'm on the Enterprise talk. Heck, Uhuru kissing Spock. Several times.
The guys space-diving onto the drill. The rescue of Captain Pike (as opposed to, say, Captain Carp or Captain Sunfish). Spock and Kirk teleporting in to the "deserted" landing bay (and subsequent poom poom shooting gallery!). Vulcan biting the big one! The difficulty of transporting people - you have to lock on to them and they can't be moving around!
The spaceship battles! The sword-fighting battle! Kirk getting repeatedly pasted, over and over! (Waitaminute...)
At first, I admit, each time a character appeared it was kind of a shock, seeing someone else play the roles. But then, it only lasted a couple of minutes, tops. This guy IS James T. Kirk, that guy IS Spock, that other guy IS Scotty...
Frankly, the entire cast really was excellent. Even Chekov's funny pronounciations were funny! The movie was funny where it had to be, serious where it had to be... overall, a great time!
And Leonard Nimoy, who, I admit, I never really cared for that much (actually, I never really cared much for any of them except for Bones and Scotty, and that was probably because I had met them once or thrice and was really impressed... ah, let's face it, I never really cared that much for Star Trek at all, in any incarnation. Sure, I watched Next Gen on occasion, but I never really CARED about them the way I did for, say, Star Wars' original cast.)
Well, consider that problem solved.
I really enjoyed Spock as a kind of rebellious bad-ass, Scotty as kind of a drunk (though not actually so) fun loving Scotsman, Kirk as the kind of smart-aleck that you'd want to punch real hard if he'd just stop backing it up!, Uhuru as a take-charge kind of gal... I just loved the whole movie!
I even liked the updates to the uniforms - kind of grew on me after awhile.
And I SO want there to be more adventures!
Star Trekkin', Across the Universe....
On the Starship Enterprise
Under Captain Kirk.
Star Trekkin'
Across the Universe,
Boldly going forward
'Cause we can't find reverse!
Under Captain Kirk.
Star Trekkin'
Across the Universe,
Boldly going forward
'Cause we can't find reverse!
Monday, May 4, 2009
I moved this past weekend
Yes, you read that right. I moved.
Ten miles down the road.
Why?
Well, long story short, I could not afford to stay in the townhouse any longer.
I'm now in a two bedroom apartment, which admittedly isn't so bad (it's actually rather nice, and I DO have a place, which is also nice) but it's a far cry from having a townhome with a garage and relatively speaking, a lot more space.
This becomes important when you have to, say, put the dining room in storage, or look for someplace to store your comic collection, or just put away your Christmas decorations.
Admittedly, this has been coming awhile. My paycheck has been squeezed just at the same time taxes andbills keep going up, including the condo fees. I figure it was costing me something like nine hundred fifty a month just in taxes and fees, which is pretty high for a townhome.
I'm feeling... well, humiliation. Loss. And many more less than charitable, less than pleasant thoughts.
Truth to tell, I should have done something years ago, but you just get in that kind of situation where you hope things get better tomorrow. Well, tomorrow came.
On the one hand, it's a nice apartment complex I moved into - one of those that's set up with individual entrances and nice views of the lake (neccessary for flood control, but still...). I'm in a townhome unit, with two bedrooms upstairs and a living room and dining area downstairs. Pretty nice all things considered.
But also much, much smaller, which means I'll have to be getting rid of a lot of stuff. Some of which I don't mind getting rid of, other stuff of which I do mind very much.
I mean, I realize that having a roof over my head and all is great, and I really could have been a lot worse off, but still, moving when you don't really want to is not fun, let's put it that way.
Ten miles down the road.
Why?
Well, long story short, I could not afford to stay in the townhouse any longer.
I'm now in a two bedroom apartment, which admittedly isn't so bad (it's actually rather nice, and I DO have a place, which is also nice) but it's a far cry from having a townhome with a garage and relatively speaking, a lot more space.
This becomes important when you have to, say, put the dining room in storage, or look for someplace to store your comic collection, or just put away your Christmas decorations.
Admittedly, this has been coming awhile. My paycheck has been squeezed just at the same time taxes andbills keep going up, including the condo fees. I figure it was costing me something like nine hundred fifty a month just in taxes and fees, which is pretty high for a townhome.
I'm feeling... well, humiliation. Loss. And many more less than charitable, less than pleasant thoughts.
Truth to tell, I should have done something years ago, but you just get in that kind of situation where you hope things get better tomorrow. Well, tomorrow came.
On the one hand, it's a nice apartment complex I moved into - one of those that's set up with individual entrances and nice views of the lake (neccessary for flood control, but still...). I'm in a townhome unit, with two bedrooms upstairs and a living room and dining area downstairs. Pretty nice all things considered.
But also much, much smaller, which means I'll have to be getting rid of a lot of stuff. Some of which I don't mind getting rid of, other stuff of which I do mind very much.
I mean, I realize that having a roof over my head and all is great, and I really could have been a lot worse off, but still, moving when you don't really want to is not fun, let's put it that way.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
OK, this is kind of weird, but...
I'll just come right out and say it.
I can't get the wrapping off of soda straws anymore.
Seriously. Did they suddenly make the paper stronger, or what?
Every time I get a straw from McDonald's or Eros or Speedway, I can't seem to open the straws anymore. You know how you just whip the wrapping off? Can't do it.
I usually end up having to tear a path all the way around the straw, then shove both pieces off but that only works about one in three. The other times I have to literally peel the paper or plastic off the straw all the way down.
I don't know why - I'm certainly not too weak (I can carry a good sized suitcase all the way through the airport, no problem). I should be able to handle a straw.
This just happened to me, over the past four or five weeks. But I've been unable to simply open up a soda straw.
Very odd. And very frustrating. It's like my brain just won't let me open one.
Sigh.
I can't get the wrapping off of soda straws anymore.
Seriously. Did they suddenly make the paper stronger, or what?
Every time I get a straw from McDonald's or Eros or Speedway, I can't seem to open the straws anymore. You know how you just whip the wrapping off? Can't do it.
I usually end up having to tear a path all the way around the straw, then shove both pieces off but that only works about one in three. The other times I have to literally peel the paper or plastic off the straw all the way down.
I don't know why - I'm certainly not too weak (I can carry a good sized suitcase all the way through the airport, no problem). I should be able to handle a straw.
This just happened to me, over the past four or five weeks. But I've been unable to simply open up a soda straw.
Very odd. And very frustrating. It's like my brain just won't let me open one.
Sigh.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Still bitterly cold here...
Just walked back a mile from Just Tires (hit a pothole - meh) and with the wind and all, it's about 36 degrees out (though bright and sunny - go figure).
And I passed a water-filled hole in a parking lot that was surrounded by bits of broken asphalt and mud. It reminded me a lot of my childhood, for some reason. I guess we used to have water-filled holes like that around the neighborhood, where the driveways hit the road. Funny how things remind you of the past.
Ah, spring. when the trees and lawns green up, and winter's bite is stilled in favor of cool winds.
I kind of feel sorry for you who live in areas where there are no change of seasons - not really. California definately does not benefit from the change, even though it can be claimed they have a winter. You just miss so much.
When I lived in Buffalo, I noticed that they made the most of the good weather, EVERY DAY. There were concerts on the M&T Bank steps, every day. Countless festivals and church picnics and outdoor concerts and fairs and... EVERY frickin' week! One summer I ate exclusively at church picnics on the weekends (Chabetta's chicken - mmm!) and often during the week.
People there really enjoyed summer - because they knew it was not to last long at all. In California it seemed people took the good weather a little for granted.
Even with the economy biting on our throats and all that, try this summer to get out to all those free festivals and National Parks and stuff that doesn't cost much, but really livens up a day. Maggie and I are planning to hit a couple parks this summer that are within driving distance, just to enjoy the day. And Arlington Racetrack is always fun.
Because although summer's not even here yet, it will soon be gone :)
And I passed a water-filled hole in a parking lot that was surrounded by bits of broken asphalt and mud. It reminded me a lot of my childhood, for some reason. I guess we used to have water-filled holes like that around the neighborhood, where the driveways hit the road. Funny how things remind you of the past.
Ah, spring. when the trees and lawns green up, and winter's bite is stilled in favor of cool winds.
I kind of feel sorry for you who live in areas where there are no change of seasons - not really. California definately does not benefit from the change, even though it can be claimed they have a winter. You just miss so much.
When I lived in Buffalo, I noticed that they made the most of the good weather, EVERY DAY. There were concerts on the M&T Bank steps, every day. Countless festivals and church picnics and outdoor concerts and fairs and... EVERY frickin' week! One summer I ate exclusively at church picnics on the weekends (Chabetta's chicken - mmm!) and often during the week.
People there really enjoyed summer - because they knew it was not to last long at all. In California it seemed people took the good weather a little for granted.
Even with the economy biting on our throats and all that, try this summer to get out to all those free festivals and National Parks and stuff that doesn't cost much, but really livens up a day. Maggie and I are planning to hit a couple parks this summer that are within driving distance, just to enjoy the day. And Arlington Racetrack is always fun.
Because although summer's not even here yet, it will soon be gone :)
Monday, April 6, 2009
It's Opening Day!
... and it's snowing in Chicago, causing postponement of the Sox' opener until tomorrow. Cubs are still playing at Houston tonight!
And...
An Ode to Opening Day
Ah, April in Chicago
Oh, the thrill of op'ning day!
(Let's overlook the weather
And the White Sox snow delay.)
It's April in Chicago
And the season starts anew
So what if we've got wind and sleet
Instead of springtime dew?
It's baseball, not just daffodils,
That tells us spring is here
It's Guillen and Piniella
It's the peanuts and the beer.
From Wrigley to Comiskey—
Oops, I mean to say The Cell—
Our hopes will come to life again
We'll shed our winter shell.
Yes, baseball's back, at last, at last
To bat away the blues
The games arrive like sunshine
Blagojevich indicted!
The economy's a mess!
Plus parking, potholes, crooks and crimes!
We need some anti-stress!
And so we turn to baseball
Seeking solace from the team
Yeah, yeah, they blew it last time
But it's April, we can dream.
Konerko's gonna kill this year
And Cub fans, please take note:
In April there's no need to think
About the bleepin' goat.
Obama's in the White House
He's Chicago's biggest fan
A trip to the World Series?
Si se puede! Yes we can!
If history tells our fortune
We will feel like fools by fall
But never mind the future, folks,
It's April. Let's play ball.
-Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune
And...
An Ode to Opening Day
Ah, April in Chicago
Oh, the thrill of op'ning day!
(Let's overlook the weather
And the White Sox snow delay.)
It's April in Chicago
And the season starts anew
So what if we've got wind and sleet
Instead of springtime dew?
It's baseball, not just daffodils,
That tells us spring is here
It's Guillen and Piniella
It's the peanuts and the beer.
From Wrigley to Comiskey—
Oops, I mean to say The Cell—
Our hopes will come to life again
We'll shed our winter shell.
Yes, baseball's back, at last, at last
To bat away the blues
The games arrive like sunshine
Blagojevich indicted!
The economy's a mess!
Plus parking, potholes, crooks and crimes!
We need some anti-stress!
And so we turn to baseball
Seeking solace from the team
Yeah, yeah, they blew it last time
But it's April, we can dream.
Konerko's gonna kill this year
And Cub fans, please take note:
In April there's no need to think
About the bleepin' goat.
Obama's in the White House
He's Chicago's biggest fan
A trip to the World Series?
Si se puede! Yes we can!
If history tells our fortune
We will feel like fools by fall
But never mind the future, folks,
It's April. Let's play ball.
-Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune
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