Grumbling of an Underling

Summer. Wanting Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:54:00 +0000

I want to see color upon a grey canvass.
I want to need to wear a jacket outside.
I want to feel that bite upon waking.
I want to hear the rustle of leaves.
I want to use my pockets.
I want to want heat.
I want fall.

Law & Order Ripped From The Headlines

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 May 2011 11:23:00 +0000

Well this isn't possible for one because Jerry Orbach is dead and secondly because Law & Order was cancelled, but what follows is my rendition of the opening scene to an episode that would have occurred based on recent events.

Open to a shot of a maid being consoled by a coworker while the manager dials 911.
911 Operator: 911 may I have the nature of your emergency?
Manager: I would like to report a rape.

Cut to Jerry Orbach, Cop sidekick and Port Authority officers approaching the front desk of a distinctly French airline.

Jerry Orbach while holding up a warrant: Ma'am, sorry for the inconvenience but we are going to have to take a look at your plane, it will only take a second.

Cut to Jerry Orbach and sidekick boarding plane, flight attendant points to a worried looking Frenchman in the third row.

Orbach and sidekick stride towards him, Orbach lifts him up and shoves him over a seat to cuff him. Frenchman starts yelling and cursing in French. Sidekick reads him his rights.

Orbach as he walks the Frenchman down the aisle: Pardon his French.

End Scene, Cue Credits

Public Service Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 May 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Let it be known that all things to do with the news, policy, politics and the like can now be found here:

http://somethoughtsonpolicy.blogspot.com/

Think of it as a spin off of a TV show, except its a TV show that has an audience of 5 people. Posts of a more Underling nature will continue to show up here.

On Government Shutdowns

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:50:00 +0000

I am fuming right now and have been since I learned that Speaker Boehner received an ovation after telling his caucus to prepare for a government shutdown.

Looking past the outright childishness of applauding the shutdown of the federal government, what really gets me about this is that the GOP has gotten what it wants all ready. The House leadership asked for $32 billion in fiscal year 2011 cuts and what do the Democrats give them? $33 billion, and that's in comparison to the billions they wanted to spend on infrastructure projects and extra stimulus. But they realized, as President Obama once said, that "elections have consequences" and that they have to compromise in order to govern (a more liberal man would say capitulate because they gave the GOP everything they want and more but I choose to go with the $60 billion as the new GOP number and be the bigger man).

One would think the Republicans would have taken the deal, declared victory, and moved on to fight the debt limit fight (more on that in a future post) and the Fiscal Year 2012 fight (ditto) with some momentum. Sadly logic and political ability escape the GOP freshman, and instead they decided to go whole hog on this one. They decided, with a shutdown on the line, to pick up their ball and go home instead of stick around and play with the other 192 participants in the game.

Now I don't profess to know anything about anything but if I were given dictatorial powers for an unspecified amount of time (powers I would relinquish upon completion of my goals of course), I might be likely to do some or all of the following:

Set up a bipartisan group to curb the long term debt and give them legislative powers (Simpson-Bowles, but with actual bite). They would have a fixed term that coincides with the next congress and would expire the day congress adjourns. Any recommendations would take at least 6 years to take effect, giving the American public the chance to vote out of office each elected official in office at the time of passage. All recommendations would be subject to bills passed by congress and signed by the president, that is to say if the congress and the president want to pass a bill to stop its implementation then it is their constitutional right to do so. Lacking a countermanding law then the recommendations themselves would become law.
After the term of this group has expired there would be boards for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Discretionary spending that would also have legislative authority to find redundancies and cost saving techniques and propose new taxes or cuts to pay for them (sort of like oh I don't the Independent Payment Advisory Board set up by the ACA). Again it would take 6 years for anything to be enacted and could be countermanded by the normal legislative process.
Debt increases would become something you have to vote down not vote for.
And possibly more if I put more than 30 minutes of thought into it.

The goal here is to take the politics out of the process so we dont have months like the one past and dont find ourselves in a political crisis. While at the same time giving our elected officials the final say (and do they ever say).

Who knows maybe the events of the past two days are a huge ruse being run by the GOP leadership in order to get the Tea Party to eventually vote for the compromise. I don't know but man do I hope so.

At the end of the day the only solace I can take away from this is that somewhere out there, there is a frustrated and fuming 20 something GOPer who is furiously pecking away at the keyboard about how the Democrats are shutting down the government.

RE: The Lady On The Orange Line Platform

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:57:00 +0000

While exiting a sardine level crowded Orange Line train at North Station today I heard a woman extol "This is just unacceptable! How many days of crowded cars has it been like this?" Now I agree with this woman, but in the same way that a Massachusetts liberal can disapprove of the way President Obama is running the country, we can be greedy like that.

I'm no expert of the cost benefit analysis of public transit nor do I claim to understand the financial problems that plague the US public transportation sector but I do know that I can leave my house at 7:25 AM and arrive at my office at 8:05 AM for less $1.50 (plus whatever percentage of my taxes go to the MBTA) and I don't have to pay attention. If on bad weather days that takes a bit longer and its more crowded due to higher ridership then so be it. It's a fucking bargain at double the price.

I would gladly pay more money per trip if it meant faster trains, a more expansive system, extra tracks for express service, enclosed stations, expanded platforms for more cars per train, etc. But people like this woman, who hate higher taxes but love exceptional service, are not going to allow it.

Now I don't know this woman, but that wont stop me from pretending to know this woman. My guess is when she thinks of public transportation she thinks of something a little less of the quality than what you get for a hired car and at a fraction of the price. There is a reason why it costs me $40 to take a Taxi to Logan Airport and $1.70 (plus whatever percentage of my taxes go to the MBTA) to go by public transit. And that reason does not stem from a lack of effort by the MBTA its stems from the bizarre way we value the service.

Cable News

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:36:00 +0000

Now I don't like cable news, we'll get to why in a moment but on days when I lose hope in the American Public's ability to make the correct choice (in my oh-so humble opinion) I find myself watching election night coverage on MSNBC. I know when I tune in I will not be getting impartial observers commenting academically on what the day's events mean for America. No, I'm getting exactly what I came for, no holds barred, unequivical conservative hating, tea-bagger bashing commentary.

Let's face it, like a sad fat guy needs ice cream and a depressed alcoholic needs a stiff drink, I need Rachel Maddow frothing at the mouth, Chris Matthews berating Michelle Bachman like an old man does a kid on his lawn & Keith Olberman telling me it's going to be ok because eventually America will realize John Boehner spends more time crying in a tanning booth than he does legislating.

That is what got me through the worst Democrat beatdown in my lifetime.

Am I proud of it? No. Am I ashamed? No, not really.

Why? Because I know they are entertaining me. I know this is opinion. I know facts are missing and more than likely will never materialize. It's along the same lines as finding yourself enjoying Enrique Iglesias sing "Tonight" but realizing at the same time that he is no Bob Dylan or John Lennon. But you know there is someone out there who would argue against that, or that Lady Gaga is the best female singer of her generation. Why? Who knows, but they believe it and you know it to be ridiculous.

To bring this around full circle, people think commentators like Keith Olberman & Glenn Beck are the modern day equivalent's of Walter Cronkite & Edward R Murrow by bringing sanity and reality to a very insane world. While the truth is Glenn Beck is closer to Joe McCarthy than Edward R Murrow and Mr. Olberman is simply the rabid propagandist of liberal Democrats and not the even handed and widely respected Walter Cronkite.

To be fair both men are admittedly over the top, strong personalities who espouse factually lacking soundbites in order to attract specific viewers. Are they journalists? Not even close, but tying them into the day to day journalistic workings of a news network is a no brainer, its just how TV works.

The problem with this is that it is deceiving and misleading to the viewers. Fact based reporting followed by factless opinion with no delineation other than a commercial or two is criminal. It leads to people regurgitating sound bites as if they were peer reviewed reports. It's harmful to true debate and contributes to the escalation of pigheadedness found on both sides of the spectrum.

But yet we (the viewers) continue to flock to cable news shows simply to have our radical opinion certified as "truth" by a pseudo news organizations bombastic opinion personality. A "truth" that is devoid of reality and fact.

And we are all the happier because of it.

What I Just Read: Neverwhere

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:41:00 +0000

The thing that I love, and at the same time the thing that irks me the most about Neil Gaiman is his ability to create this alternate reality that is incredibly detailed with characters and history. Then at the end of the story he dismisses the world he has created and moves on to another one. With both American Gods and the most recent book of Mr. Gaiman's I read, Neverwhere, he creates these intricate worlds with expansive histories and hundreds of characters that are only touched on for moments. Needless to say I found myself enveloped by these stories and characters and would like very much to hear more about the Marquis and Richard (though I did just receive Anansi Boys in the mail, a novel that is based in the same world as American Gods). But enough about my wants.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman did not disappoint in the artfully constructed fictional reality department. The characters were many and a couple of them I could not get enough of (Richard and Marquis especially). While the Marquis was a nice bit of snide and sarcastic ego worked into a heroes tale Richard himself was a perfect vehicle to reflect the thoughts the reader may have whilst engrossed in the story.

Richard does take a lead in scenes and is by know means a hollow character yet at the same time he is left out of the dialogue for pages at a time only to pop up with a sort of color commentary on the scene that is unfolding. It as if the rest of the scene is a play by play commentator and Richard is the second guy in the booth who chimes in with a "Woah!' and "Great shot by Neely on that play!". I do not know if he is meant to call attention to this or that but I can say that his mutterings in the middle of scenes are greatly appreciated.

Unlike American Gods, which may have been a bit longer than it was needed, Neverwhere is too short. The story flies by too quickly and could have used a slower pace in certain moments. Though I can not say that the book is any less enjoyable due to the lack of details.

The cover is average. Having seen what the new Fragile Things, Smoke and Mirrors and Anansi Boys looks like I think it is fair to say that this cover is lacking. It looks rushed and neglected. A photo with an easy Photoshop action to hide the blurriness below.

I read this book months ago, along with two others that I hope to post on soon (no promises). In the meantime you can blame The Economist. Katy does all ready.

Speaking of Katy and Neil Gaiman, Katy and I went to see Neil Gaiman's fiance Amanda Palmer play with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for New Years. After the show we bought their book and waited in line to have them both sign it. When it came to be our turn to get the book signed we both froze up (One could say we were starstruck) and kinda of mumble an inaudible greeting. We ended up leaving the whole ordeal with this dazed look in our eyes and feeling a bit silly.

My Kingdom for a Suit of Armor and an Accompanying mobile Brass Band

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:54:00 +0000

Not your normal post but I sure do love it.

One of these things is not like the others.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:17:00 +0000

Answer: The engagement ring. Not edible.

Grumblings of a Losing Liberal

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:56:00 +0000

Unless you live under a rock, which who knows there are some pretty nice rocks out there (the Harvard Museum has a whole bunch that I would be honored to live under), then you know that the great Commonwealth (of which there are only four, first one to names the other three in the comments section gets a prize) of Massachusetts elected a new Junior Senator who hails from Wrentham. He goes by the name Scott Brown and he looks like (only click the following if you want to see a sexy, but lightly clothed, Massachusetts man) this.

I did not vote for Scott Brown. Katy did not vote at all because she is currently in a country that does not allow people to vote.

I also have something they call a twitter, which if you dont follow (it's OK I forgive you) then you will find these Tweets to be new and maybe funny? I was hoping that I would be posting these as a "What If?" post but alas I live in a Commonwealth (of which there are only four) of slightly mentally impaired individuals.

But I digress.

To the Tweets!

I may have been lying when I said I wasn't worried.
I feel like tonight's election night coverage is going to be a prize fight, I am that nervous/excited.
I'm useless @ work right now, need to go vote & then head home to refresh Drudge 2848929 times, infuriating myself @ his bias in the process.

Scott Brown wins.

Like it or not. That's Democracy, and that's America.
Looks like it's time to roll out my new SN IAmAntiSBrown (for those of you who don't know my old (and still current SN is IAmAntiGWBush I was just looking for an excuse to change it). What? I made it months ago.....
Our long Commonwealth nightmare is over! Now he's a full blown National nightmare!
Well at least he's good looking.
I always wanted a porn star for a Senator.
Filibuster fans the world over watched in horror as the final nail that is Scott Brown was affixed to the coffin.
If there is one positive I can take away from today is that Scott Brown will never allow for a tax on my Coca Cola. No sir.
All jokes aside, congrats Scott Brown, I never thought I would troll on Facebook this much just to laugh at your supporters.
Between Scott Brown winning and Conan being kicked off the tonight show, what's a trendy person to do?
"If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain." Winston Churchill
Therefore all elected Democrats have no brains. How is that not the Republican attack line? If only I had no heart I would rule the world.
Where are the birthers on Scotty he doesn't look a day past 17.
What did you expect? You know only rich people can afford umbrellas.
Thanks for playing Folks! Don't forget to pick up your new cute, cuddly, and slightly "special", Junior Senator from MA on your way out!

Bonus tweet!

Roast-beef sandwiches are delicious, but a little less so when your Junior Senator is named Scott Brown.

[Crickets Chirping]

What not funny?

Possibly The Greatest Thing Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:02:00 +0000

A tall boy can of coke (16 oz). Only if it was made with real sugar could I possibly be happier. I should have bought two.

Sorry for the poor picture quality, Katy left me two film cameras, an Elph without a battery and a 10 year old digital power shot that ended up taking this picture.

The Humbling of An Underling

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:37:00 +0000

You may or may not know that for the past month I have been working as a temporary employee for Oxfam America. A job I was set to leave this Friday as the work from Christmas donations came to a close.

That was until today. As you all know yesterday at approximately 5 PM Eastern there was a 7.0 Earthquake in Port Au Prince, Haiti. A catastrophic event that has killed by the most conservative estimates over 100,000 people (amazingly the now expected toll is much closer to 50,000 updated 1/14). An event in which no one knows exactly what has happened over 24 hours later. In a time of email, the satellite phone, and super sonic jets the fact that we do not know the fate of some 3 million people is chilling.

It is because of that devastation and chaos that I get to keep my job for at least one or two more weeks.

Now do not get me wrong, I do not blame myself for a massive earthquake. I am not that narcissistic (says the man with the blog). Though I understand that it is not my fault and my good fortune is destined to help right a wrong (albeit in a very minor role), it's hard not to feel guilty and downright criminal for being able to pull a wage in such a situation. $10 an hour would go a lot further in Haiti right now than in my wallet.

If you are so inclined to donate to help the relief effort in Haiti here are a couple of links.

Oxfam America: Haiti Earthquake Response Fund

Or if that is not your cup of tea: List of Aid Organizations Operating in Haiti

Friday Night at the Empty Bottle

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:30:00 +0000

The one, the only, Jens Lekman.
Katy took this picture and touched his hand. I may be jealous.

As you may or may not know I really like Jens Lekman (follow the hyperlink for more details or stand pat with the knowledge that he is the Swedish King of Pop). You also may or may not know that last weekend I was in Chicago, You probably don't know that Mr. Lekman was also in Chicago. Seeing as how I have previously stated that I would fly anywhere in the Western Hemisphere to see Mr. Lekman perform one can assume my trip to Chicago was centered around the show. It was.

Details of Chicago and what not will unfold in the next week or two, believe me I have the time. Wedding work has completed and the benevolent overlord is in Egypt being heavily guarded (Yes I know what benevolent means and for those of you thinking that A) I don't or B) that you the reader does not then here is the definition). But first I would like to share with you my Jens experience.

First I must admit I was not the most enthusiastic person in the room that goes to the girl standing to the right of Daniel, to you unknown Jens fan I award the "Superduper amazingingly into it fan" award, cherish it.

Second I despise live DJing and people who seem to think its quote: AMAZING! :end quote.

Second.5 It probably is not a good idea to drop some ecstasy and then come out and play cds as your set, and then try to continually open bottles of beer with your hands that can only be opened with an opener and then upon failing to open it you hand it to your DJ partner (i find that having a DJ partner is odd) so he can open it with his teeth x5. I know, I too heard my orthodontist crying somewhere in my brain (crying out of pleasure of the money he was about to make or out of pain I don't know).

A couple of inebriated Swedes

Thirdly if you don't know more than the word "skål" for it's respective language(s) please do not shout it at the top of your lungs while you drink PBR, have an awful mustache, wear tight pants, flanel and a terrible trucker hat. In fact just go back to the hell in which you crawled out of and stay there, i'm sure they have pointlessly made bikes there as well for you to ride, after all they are forms of torture. I mean really gears and breaks were invented to make riding a bike easier and painless yet you choose to forgo them????

Picture this concept applied to a car.

That's what I thought.

I digress....

4th I witnessed a woman typing with one hand on her iPhone, people like that (and people who have the "sent from my iPhone" signature) are people who should not have them. I should have them, but one will do.

Cincoth All this aside I really really really like Jens Lekman and when the show started I was no longer tired from only getting 3 hours sleep the night before nor was I mad about anything. I really enjoyed myself, to put it plainly. In my short career of shows I have never anticipated a moment quite like this one and it did not disappoint, complete with new music that I liked and which featured parts of Paul Simon songs ( I like Paul Simon) to every song I would have wanted to hear (save Happy Birthday Lisa).

You should have noticed by now I am very bad at conveying happiness and appreciation through words or speech. In my mind it's simple; I either liked it or I didn't, albeit it in varying degrees. If I don't like it I can tear it apart and stomp all over it (as seen at the upper part of this post). If I like it then I just do (with a "really" or two thrown in there). Sorry if it appears that I dreaded the evening, because I really really really enjoyed myself (I must have liked it because you just got a really cubed).

Stock Photo of an excited Kevin

Boston - 7 = Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:19:00 +0000

During the month of January the city of Chicago is on average 7 degrees colder than Boston.

I can say from firsthand experience that this is in fact true if not a little low.

As a result Chicagoans share my childish fascination with The Revolving Door, which may or may not have something to do with it being cold there.

An Overzealous Christmas Gift or a Problem?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:38:00 +0000

Tonight the clerk at the Choice Liquors waved off my ID and said "I know you".

In Fridge:

Dundee Honey Brown: 12
Sea Dog Blue Paw: 12
Hoegaarden: 15
Harpoon UFO: 6
Sam Adams Cherry Wheat: 4
Young's Double Chocolate Stout: 2
Boddington's: 4
Long Trail Blackberry Wheat: 8
Stella: 1
Magner's Irish Cider: 6
Delerium Tremens: 3

That's 71 beers for those of you scoring at home.

What I Just Read: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:33:00 +0000

I did not read this book because it was highly recommended to me, not because of any good reviews, nor because it seemed like a book I would enjoy. I read this book simply because of the ad-campaign. I saw it on the T, on that backs of buses, all over the internet, in the newspaper and magazines. Not to mention it stared at me for some time when I worked at Borders. So I had to read it.

Now it may not come to many of you as a surprise that I enjoyed an International Best Selling Novel, but I did. Though not all that challenging in a literary sense and clearly losing a bit with the translation from Swedish, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson was still a thoroughly enjoyable and thrilling book. It reminded me a lot of The Da Vinci Code, which would make sense because it's a crime thriller that is fast paced. The book moves like a movie, and even has a montage part that spans a a couple months in a few pages. I would not be surprised if you end up seeing this as a movie in the next few years. Overall I liked it and can not wait (but yet I will wait) until The Girl Who Played With Fire comes out in paperback.

Which leads me to the over all look of the book. Limiting the color scheme to four (black font, orange + green design on a yellow background) really works for the book, and interlacing the title in with the dragon design was a neat way to make the dragon stand out. The book has a nice light feel to it and the pages turn fairly easily but at the same time do not have cheap bible paper feel to them. The one problem I have with the cover is the orange strip on the back for Mr. Larson's picture and a few blurbs. I wish it wasn't there. It brings about a rough and abrupt end to a rather intricate and beautiful cover.

Sorry if this post is lacking in substance, I finished this book a month ago and never got around to posting on it. I should also have a post on Neverwhere, which I finished today, in the next couple days.

A "Thank You Card" Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:09:00 +0000

On this here day of thanks I give you heretofore a sampling of my thankings. Thankings that should have arrived in the mail yesterday, to thankees I shall be seeing today. Calculated I assure you.

My Nana was disappointed that I donated her money to Mr. Obama's re-election campaign and expressed hope that I might not do the same with my birthday money. I followed her advice, in a manner of speaking.

Cambridge, it's what's for dinner.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:24:00 +0000

Why does Cambridge, between Blanche St. and Albany St. on Mass Ave smell like a whole bunch of these?

No really just go stand by the gas station (maybe stand across the street so you aren't getting high off the gas fumes) and take a big sniff. Am I right or am I right? It doesn't matter what you think, because I'm right.

What I Just Read: On The Grand Trunk Road

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:45:00 +0000

Steve Coll and Mr. Staggs (yes I just Googled a High School teachers name and I got his Twitter page in under a minute, the world we live in is bizarre. I also got his blog and Linked in page, as a result I now know pretty much everything about the guy since I last saw him 6 years ago) are the two main reasons why I chose Political Science as my major. Thomas Friedman is another reason but I like to forget about that time in my life.

Anyway, as a result of my love of all things written by Coll it was inevitable that I would stumble across On The Grand Trunk Road at the Derby Square bookstore and therefore force myself to buy a book that was published in 1994. So what if most of the info on India and Pakistan is out of date and the Tamil Rebels are no more, I still enjoyed learning more about India and Pakistan than just Nehru and Jinnah (not to mention learning anything at all about Sri Lanka, for one I had no idea India occupied Sri Lanka for a few years).

My favorite part of the book was Coll's work on the question's surrounding General Zia's death. Besides it being perfectly obvious that Zia was assassinated by his own men it shows exactly to what lengths Coll will go to in order to find the real story. My understanding for what drives Coll is much clearer as a result.

Though I ended up not reading the end of the book because it contained only a fraction of the insight Coll gave in his book Ghost Wars a decade later (10 years works wonders, especially with the help of a research assistant or two), I would say that the book was worth reading even if time has given it quite a beating. His first hand accounts and the present day feel of events that happened 20 years ago make reading the history easier than it would be if I were sitting in a history class.

Like the majority of non-fiction books this book did little for me when it came to the cover. And why should it have? It's is about actual events and not some parallel universe which allows the imagination to do whatever it wants with the cover as long it is remotely linked to the story in some way. He is a journalist not a creative thinker.

In summation: Do I like the cover? Not really. Do I think it could have been better? Certainly. Do I care to spend another line talking about how much better it could have been? No.

Cat-Day +365

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:22:00 +0000

..... and still as pitiful a hunter as ever.

On TV

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:29:00 +0000

I'm a sucker for a good story line. That's why I read the final Harry Potter book from the moment I got it at 1 PM to 8 AM the next morning, that's why I go on This American Life binges, and that's why it took me a matter of weeks to watch every episode of The Wire. I can't help it, good books, good television, good radio, and even movies are all the same to me; they are stories.

It's funny how adult's always tell you that books are superior to television, and that the path to success, and therefore enjoyment, is paved with books. Of course there may be some truth to that, hours upon hours of watching reruns of Friends and Frasier may do little more than occupy your time, but the same can be said for trashy Romance novels and endless loops of Top 40 hits.

Everything is good in moderation, and everything has it's good and it's bad. But something that grasps your attention, makes you experience emotions beyond a simple chuckle, makes you understand yourself and others around you a little better, no matter what medium it travels, is worth the time.

Don't blame me, blame Battlestar Galactica.

No, Thank You.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:55:00 +0000

Since I was a small child my mother required of my brothers and I that we write thank you notes whenever we were given a gift or a some of money. It would take weeks of constant nagging and threats to get us to write them, it was like pulling teeth. As a result of all those years of writing I have since come to the conclusion that if you are going to write a Thank You Note you might as well make it interesting and memorable. So here I present for your perusal a few notes I wrote in thanks to my family for cutting me a check that I promptly turned around and paid off some debt with. Enjoy.

It should be noted that my Nana is not a fan of President Obama and wrote of such fact in her card to me. Just some perspective.

The Kindness Of Strangers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:20:00 +0000

This past weekend Katy, her cousin Kevin and myself went to the Harvard Natural History Museum which was an all around good time. Upon returning back to our apartment to pick somethings up I received a Facebook message from someone named Elisa claiming that she had found my license and how would I like it returned to me. I quickly checked my wallet only to find that in fact my license was missing and I had been driving around for the past hour without it.

I guess my point is Elisa did not have to search me out on Facebook and mail me my license she could have just as easily thrown it away, or stolen my identity. But she did not, she wrote me a note and sent it to me the next day in the mail. Very kind of her. Thank you Elisa.

The Interview That Got Away

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:46:00 +0000

On my way to the North End today to have lunch at Galleria Umberto's I decided to get off at the Government Center T stop and walk across City Hall Plaza. As it would happen at the same time I was walking across the plaza Councilman Flaherty and Sam Yoon were giving a press conference to a handful of reporters and television cameras about the absurd political scandal that is the email deletions at city hall.

I'll get into Flaherty, Yoon and the emails later, but what struck me was the proximity with I had found myself to someone I could have voted for and someone I have the chance to vote for in the future, something which has only happened to me once when I listened to Governor Deval Patrick speak at a house event in Gloucester. It's an interesting feeling being in the presence of someone you only see on TV screens and in Newspaper articles, who have positions and agendas that appear to be black and white. Then you meet the man (or in this case men) and he is not a robot, he is not unplugged and wheeled away when the interview is over. No they make small talk, shake hands, laugh, look awkward, even nervous. It's weird, or maybe it's normal. Either way they are like everyone else, just in a different situation.

Of course me being me I thought after the press conference was over the reporters would fan out and do an interview or two with a random bystander. Myself being the only bystander I thought I stood a pretty good chance of being interviewed. It was not to be. But you the reader should not suffer for journalistic reluctance so here I present to you the "Interview That Got Away":

Underling: First of all I would like to say to my mother as well as any potential employers out there I don' look like this all the time. I usually shave and walk around with my hair combed and clean clothes. Today is an anomaly.

Reporter: What brings you here today?

U: I was just heading over to the North End for some Arancini and Sicilian Pizza, I happened upon the press conference and decided to stick around just in case I got interviewed.

R: Do you go to school in Boston?

U: I studied political science at THE Northeastern University, but currently I work at Bartley's in Cambridge as a line cook, because of the economy of course.

R: As a student of Politics what is your take on this whole "Emailgate" thing?

U: First of all can we please just agree that nothing should have the ending "gate" on it any more?

R: Ummm....

U: I'll take that as a yes. But coming back to your point I think this whole thing is a non-issue, the emails if they contain anything of relevance have little to do with the day to day running of the city nor any of the real issue the city is facing. That being said this is a great issue for Councilman Flaherty and Mr. Yoon to jump on. On the one hand they can label the Mayor as out of touch and his staff as ill equipped to deal with the technological advancements being made in goverment. On the other hand they can label the Mayor as an obstructionist of the law, someone with something to hide, a crook.

R: How do you think the Mayor's camp has handled this so far?

U: Poorly. I mean they could have killed this early by simply firing Mr. Kineavy and appointing a special investigator who answered to the City Council and had full access to anything and everything. Instead the Secretary of State and the Attorney General are not competing for face time 0n the issue and the Flaherty - Yoon campaign does not have to make us care about issues, they simply just need to express their outrage and demand accountability. This is just bad for the Mayor.

R: And you work where?

U: At a burger joint.

Mongolian OCD

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:41:00 +0000

I have somehow over the past few weeks embraced my inner prep cook and started doing things like this; cutting and measuring out every part of the Mongolian Beef dish I am going to make for dinner tonight (which I am convinced was created by someone working for the Beef industry who needed a reason to get rid of flank steak which is 33% fat). It may have something to do with working in a kitchen or being hungry or my need to be organized or finding myself wanting to cook dinner but having to wait for Katy to come home in order to do it. Either way I'm some where between a Chef and the manly version of a house wife, I can't decide.

And yes if you click the picture it is a full res JPEG. I know how to shrink it, yet I don't care. That goes for you people with 56k, I just do not care that it may take you 3 minutes to load that picture, upgrade or move.