wordsmithlind

There sure are a lot of things going on in the world now that 2008 is drawing to a close.  Israel continues to pound Gaza in an unbalanced show of power.  Governor Rod Blagojevich appointed someone to Obama’s tainted Senate seat against the wishes of House Democrats.  The problems in the Congo are still going on, global warming is an issue still, corporations are using “being green” as a new selling point, and here is the only good news to come out the end of the year, I continue to write about the Chicago Blackhawks for www.chicagosporting.com!  Yes, in all this madness at least the Hawks are doing well.  So hesitate not, go to www.chicagosporting.com and read my articles.   

 So have you ye, I write, right, for www.chicagosporting.com covering the Blackhawks, mostly doing post game stories.  Hopefully in the future I will be doing features and interviews, but for now it is just game stories.  Also, how about those riots in Greece?  Lots of stuff burning, looks like the focus has been lost.  A point was made and then taken too far.  Senseless violence it is now.  I saw a picture of a girl rioting holding up her fingers in the peace sign, I thought that was ironic.  Now solidarity riots in other parts of Europe, seems like the ultra-left just looking for a reason to break stuff.

Pakistani militants are stepping up their attacks by destroying over 160 US and NATO vehicles at two transport terminals.  The vehicles eventually would have made their way to Afghanistan to fight “the war on terror.”  The US and NATO ship supplies through Pakistan as Afghanistan is a landlocked country, now they will have to think twice.  If more of these attacks are to happen, retaliation will be eminent.  The question goes back to an earlier blog, will Bush do it alone or with Obama’s blessing?  And if he fails to do so, will Obama do it as he stated about Iran in his speech in Berlin, Europe will join the US in any more action in the war on terror?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081207/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan;_ylt=AmNvEyaoagb1KdrvSzHFCT1vaA8F

In fact, she is openly breaking on McCain on this.  McCain feels states should decide, Palin is towing the Bush line and wants a Federal Amendment to the Constitution preventing gays from getting married.  Once again, what year are we living in?  I thought we got past this when Bush failed to enact this amendment.  In addition, isn’t it about time the McCain campaign put a sock in her mouth?  After the “Palin Bump,” to no sadness on my part, she has single-handedly destroyed his campaign and brought out into the open an even darker and distorted image of the United States that even the Bush/Cheney ticket could not achieve.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081020/ap_on_el_pr/palin_gay_marriage 

Well, there is not much that I can really write about that hasn’t been said, but I am extremely glad and happy that the Flyers’ fans gave Palin the most unfriendly welcoming for her ceremonial opening puck drop at the Flyers’ home opener.  Even the recorded applause pumped in over the PA system could not overtake the boo’s.  The Obama/Biden signs in the front row amongst the cheering wealthy* were a good addition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vArbfN0Vb0I 

 *A perfect example of the social stratification that is every professional sporting event; rich close to the action, poor (the real fans) far away and out of sight.  And why do the wealthy always get the free t-shirts and win other prizes in the stadium? 

Apparently Palin is going to drop the puck at the ceremonial opening face-off for the Philadelphia Flyers’ home opener for some lame hockey mom contest.  The Flyers want to thank her for the attention she has brought to hockey and the NHL.  Of course, Philadelphia happens to be in a swing state, no coincidence there.  As if my distaste for Palin’s association with hockey wasn’t excessive as is, now she is making personal appearances at NHL games.  All I can say is that I hope the Flyers pay for this disgrace to the sport and Palin’s attempt to turn it into a right wing tool, which is ironic as the NHL has pledged to become carbon-neutral and is actively bringing attention to global warming (no ice = no hockey).

http://flyers.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=385526

note: according to Wikipedia.org, Flyers’ owner Ed Snider “…and philosopher Leonard Peikoff founded the Ayn Rand Institute for the advancement of Objectivism” in 1985.   

***In addition, on Keith Oberman last night, he mentioned that Ed Snider is a maxed-out GOP donator and he is using Philadelphia and Pennsylvania tax dollars to bring Palin for this non-political, non-partisan event aka a GOP Photo-op.

Monday’s are always the best, or are they the worst, I can’t remember.  I think it is probably the worst.  Yeah, that would make the most sense, but it could be the best.  It is the farthest day from Sunday when you have to go to church again.   Yes, I will say it is the best.  Oh, you are Religious you say?   You don’t hate church?   You love your Cadillac?   You are so fucked and mislead you can’t even see it.  What is normal to you is so absurd to me.  Oh, you bought a widescreen TV?  That’s great.  Oh, you had to put it on your credit card though.  That’s unfortunate.  You got a six speaker surround sound stereo system?  That’s makes you living room even better I would say.  Oh, credit card again.  That nasty credit card.  Tell me, what do you own?  Your house?  Your car?  Your kids?  Yes, your kids.  The greatest possession a person can have.  Any asshole can have a kid, but you need good credit to buy a car and a license to drive it.   What?  Did I see the game on Sunday?  No.  What do I mean “no”?  I mean No, I did not see the game on Sunday.  Weren’t you supposed to go to church?  Oh, I see, you left early to get home to watch the game.  That’s probably what Jesus would have done.  Jesus was a big football fan, he told me.  He likes the Chiefs this season.  Or is that my boss?  I can’t remember, they’re both fiction to me.  Hey, your kid is crying.  He knows to wait until a commercial, I see.  What happens when you are watching a movie on HBO?  Do you just let him sit there and cry?  That is ridiculous, I must be an idiot.  He needs to be tougher?  Why?  Oh, yeah, that’s right, quarterbacks don’t cry.  Did you play football?  No?  But he is going to, right?  You’ll be at every game.  That’s great.  Oh, except for Sunday.   What about practice?  That will probably be during the week, you’ll probably be working.  The wife, that’s right.  Gotcha.  Good lordy, it’s getting late.  I should probably get going.  One more beer?  Nah, I really have to go.  Your kid is crying again.  After that beer, I understand.  Well, bye.

The green wall doesn’t match the white carpet.  She never noticed that before.  How can green not match white?  I thought everything matched white.  Oh well…she walked outside to have a cigarette.  Her husband won’t let her smoke in the house.  It is just one of their many differences.  Why they got married she will never know.  She didn’t even love him.  She never has.  She never will.  Oh well, that’s how everyone’s marriage is.  Shivering in the cold, she stamped out her cigarette.  Back into the house she went.  She sat in front of the TV and turned off her brain.  The images flashed before her eyes.  Daytime TV.  She never liked it before, now she can’t live without it.  The TV roared in and her eyes ceased to move.  Bliss.

He sat and wondered at the thought of nothing.  If nothing was nothing and something was something, then something couldn’t be nothing yet nothing is something.  His mind raced in a plethora of directions, filling the world with nonsense.  No sense, this is, can’t be sense if there is no sense.  What sense?  Nonsense.  No, that doesn’t make any sense…if he went up, he went down, but he never went to the side.  Well, that doesn’t make any sense.  No, sense, nonsense, it makes sense.  For if he went down, he is sure to go up, but be careful of side, for it has no sense.  Side has no sense, nonsense.  Sense, it has sense, just it is nonsense.  Nonsense of the finest sense.  Finest sense with the finest scent.  Nonsense, that makes sense.  What scent is sense if nonsense has a scent?  Why, that makes sense, sense is of a scent that has no other sense.  Nonsense makes sense only when it has a sense.  The sense has a scent, making it nonsense.  If the scent has a sense, then it is nonsense.  That makes sense. 

He walked on, on top of a top spinning around the top of the house that stood on top of the stilts.  Around and around he rolled and pulled.  The line he walked was straight, yet curved with the earth as it twirled and towed.  This doesn’t make any sense.   Sense.  Sense.  Why, nonsense, it is sense.  Can you tell me why this doesn’t make any sense?  It does make sense, nonsense, if you look to see the sense that you lost is rather important.  Nonsense, it isn’t a scent that you seek.  For if you sought a scent, you would have to stop the top on top of the house on top of the stilts.  Nonsense.  Sense, this is nonsense.  If I stop the top on top of the house on top of the stilts I am surely to fall in to the see below.  If I fall to the see I won’t be able to see the sea that’s on top of the top.  Nonsense, if the top is to stop it will make sense only when you see the sea, so stop the top in order to see. 

He stopped the top and what did he see?  Nothing.  Nothing lain in front of him.  He did not see the sea nor did he fall up from the top on top of the house on top of the stilts.  It made no sense.  He walked on and pondered some more.  If the top stopped and there was no see…if the top stopped…if the top…if the…if…if he started the bottom off the bottom of the house off the bottom of the stilts maybe then he could fall up to the see and into the sea…start the stop get to the top.   Nothing.  He could think of nothing. 

On he walked with nothing but sense.  Sense will help me on my way.  But there was no sense and nothing made sense…nothing made sense…that’s it, nothing made sense.  Nothing makes sense.  There is nothing that makes sense.  There is no sense.

With a smile and a grin he strolled on knowing that nothing made sense.

Standing outside of a beer garden in Vienna (so I could bring my own beer and not pay for the overpriced beer garden beer) watching the Germany vs. Turkey semifinal match, the rain of the first half did not come close to matching the rain of the second half.  Without as much as a warning drop, sheets of rain blew in sideways as the giant umbrellas covering the picnic tables lifted off the ground.  I moved underneath the overhang of the nearest apartment building, still with a good view of the game, crowded amongst the others seeking what little shelter there was to offer.  For protection, the owner of the garden covered the large TV thus effectively ending the viewing with 25 minutes left to play in a tied match.  The rain blew harder, and then it blew harder.  Eventually my friend punched all the buttons on the outside panel in hopes that someone would let us in.  The door buzzed, the dam broke, and the soaked fans of Turkey and Germany flooded into the foyer, momentarily forgetting about the match.  The brave stood out under the canopy of the bar, watching the TV through the window.  We in the foyer watched the game via their reactions, others via cell phone updates.  A cheer went up outside, “Zwei, eins!”  The call echoed through the foyer for all to hear.  Just minutes later a hand outside slapped his owner’s forehead in frustration, “Zwei, zwei!”  Looking at my watch, the game must be drawing to a close soon.  A cheer goes up from the German fans on their cell phones in the back of the foyer, along with another cheer outside with celebratory hugs to go around, “Drei, zwei!” 

I watched the faces of the soaked German fans, their anxiety created waves of anxiety inside of me during the closing minutes.  Again frustrated arms flailed into the air, a look at my watch indicated that it must be extra time.  The German fans closed their eyes, it must be a corner or a free kick for Turkey, they opened them, a cheer of relief followed by the yell of victory, “JA!!!!”  The game was over, Germany won.  The German fans in the foyer cheered and danced while the Turkish fans looked on.  After the rain slowed down a bit, I peeked my head outside.  The beer garden was a disaster.  The temporary bar that had been set up was destroyed, along with an umbrella, and garbage filled the ground.  The streets were near empty except for the brave souls running to their destination.  Ducking our heads, we too joined the brave and ran to the nearest u-bahn station for the wet ride home.