It sure rained heavily overnight but we might catch a break in the action tonight as current forecasts are for cloudy skies with the possibility of some showers before midnight. I hope so as I do not want to have to battle the elements to get to the club. What happens after I am in and start partying is another matter and after a short time I probably won't care what it is doing outside anyway. If I get sloshed inside, I can slosh my way home back up the hill in rain if need be. It is fortunate that I am close enough to walk it (or crawl it if necessary). Ha!
Today will be a quiet one as I rest up but I probably should use the time to do some cleaning of the apartment.
Next weekend it looks like we will catch another break in the weather which is fine as I will be leaving on vacation late Sunday evening. That is good news. At least the AccuWeather.com long range forecast calls for sunny weather on the 8th of January. We have not seen a completely sunny day here in weeks so I am sure everyone would be pleased with that.
Have I made any New Year's Resolutions? NO! I never do. I tried that much earlier in life and it became pointless after awhile so why tie any resolution to a specific date. It is meaningless.
I am outa here for now so Happy 2006 everyone!
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Friday, December 30, 2005
What a laugh!
I was reading the article entitled "AT&T to spend big on ads" (in 2006) in this morning's edition of the San Francisco Examiner and about fell out of my chair when I read that the yearlong campaign's tag line will be: Your world. Delivered. Now, pray tell me, how are they going to accomplish that when they can't even deliver phone directories on time.
I have lived at my current address since October 1993 and each fall or early winter new phone directories are delivered, no questions asked. This year to date, no directories have arrived. In fact, I received a computerized phone call from SBC/AT&T on Thursday asking me if I had received directories or not (Press 1 for NO) so I pressed numero uno. Later that day I received a phone call from someone in India who asked me the same question. I had the same answer for him - NO - and then he wanted to know where I lived. My god, doesn't the phone company know where I live. Did they erase their memory banks when they merged? If this is an example of service with the new or old SBC or AT&T, I want nothing to do with them. What a mess!
I have lived at my current address since October 1993 and each fall or early winter new phone directories are delivered, no questions asked. This year to date, no directories have arrived. In fact, I received a computerized phone call from SBC/AT&T on Thursday asking me if I had received directories or not (Press 1 for NO) so I pressed numero uno. Later that day I received a phone call from someone in India who asked me the same question. I had the same answer for him - NO - and then he wanted to know where I lived. My god, doesn't the phone company know where I live. Did they erase their memory banks when they merged? If this is an example of service with the new or old SBC or AT&T, I want nothing to do with them. What a mess!
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Telephone madness
What is wrong with the new SBC, or is it the old AT&T? Every year that I can remember, we have always received new phone directories at the front door each fall or early winter. This year nothing, so far anyway. Then today I receive a computerized phone call asking me if I had received my directories or not. Press 1 if no...well, I pressed numero uno and hung up. Then tonight I receive a live phone call from India asking me the same question. Then he had to ask what my address was. He didn't seem too pleased when I asked him what was going on as he hung up at that point. I guess that was not in their script over there. Is this an example of the phone service we are going to receive with the merger of SBC and AT&T? If so, I want out.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Liberal?
Ach, you never want to discuss politics (as well as religion and finances) with strangers especially with strangers at a bar during Happy Hour. I made the mistake of mentioning Madeline Albright to which some one asked "What did she ever do for the country?" to which I replied "What did George Bush ever do for the country?". Oops...wrong answer...so WWIII was started and I bailed out at that point. Pity, it could have really been interesting but then most people in this silly city are either too far to the left or too far to the right to discuss important issues. I have always considered myself middle-of-the-road but I doubt that those two neo-cons will ever see it that way.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Bah...Humbug
This day is supposed to be merry. Right? Well, I guess for some people it is. For those of us who are growing older and who live alone and whose health does not always seem what it should be, there can be nothing merry about the day or the season. No, I am not dying and I have friends to visit later today but one of life's little irritations, cold sores, weighs heavily on me this morning and that is ridiculous. Why should such a minor irritation cause such a problem? I've had them before and will have them again but now, coming during this holiday season, seems most untimely and I worry about how long it will take to clear up as I leave on vacation in two weeks and want to be in tip top shape then. Ain't life grand?
It seems to be earily quiet this morning here in the apartment house. I am surprised that those who insist on playing their stereos rather loudly are not doing so. I also hope I don't jinx the situation by even mentioning that.
Anyway, it has started raining again. Yesterdays sunshine was a brief respite indeed. Forecasts seem to indicate that we will again have showers off and on all week including New Year's Eve. Booo...! We are already over 100% of normal in rainfall already so we don't need anymore, at least right away. It would be nice to dry out. I guess the dreary weather is just adding to my woes, that is, not feeling in a merry mood on this holiday. Oh well, some wine and dinner this afternoon should lift my spirits (I hope).
It seems to be earily quiet this morning here in the apartment house. I am surprised that those who insist on playing their stereos rather loudly are not doing so. I also hope I don't jinx the situation by even mentioning that.
Anyway, it has started raining again. Yesterdays sunshine was a brief respite indeed. Forecasts seem to indicate that we will again have showers off and on all week including New Year's Eve. Booo...! We are already over 100% of normal in rainfall already so we don't need anymore, at least right away. It would be nice to dry out. I guess the dreary weather is just adding to my woes, that is, not feeling in a merry mood on this holiday. Oh well, some wine and dinner this afternoon should lift my spirits (I hope).
Friday, December 23, 2005
New Dollar Coins
I am glad to read this news about the new dollar coins but at the same time I hope people stop hoarding them and will use them as well as the older dollar coins issued in recent years. Paper dollars are such a mess and a nuisance. The only time I see dollar coins here in San Francisco is from Muni change machines and Cal-Train ticket machines. They need to be in general circulation, not simply some specialized "token" as it were for transit agencies.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Happy Holidays, or whatever.
It sure does not feel like winter these days as we have had some heavy rains this week complete with thunder and lightning last Sunday. This apartment feels like a sauna after last weeks' temperatures in the forties and fifties. Today's high was 66. The ski season up in the Sierrras is getting off to a slow start although I saw some scenes on the news tonight where some resorts had snow. Not sure where that was however. Most of the snow so far has been man made. Earlier this week it was raining above 8,000 feet and melting even that.
It is the holiday season anyway and I have three parties to attend during the next four days and I will drink to that. In the meantime, will someone please stop this rain?
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Santa Revealed
OK, enough of the serious stuff for now but did you know what Karl Rove has done now? Talk about identity leaks, this one is the worst of them all. Good heavens, little kids all over the world could be traumetized by this.
OK,I can't stand it...one more item. This one is about Intelligent Falling. Well, duh...
Pedestrian Safety
This subject is the focus of a lot of talk these days in San Francisco as there have been a couple of accidents in which people have been killed when hit by a Muni bus in recent weeks. As always, people are prone to blame the Muni whether or not it is one of their drivers faults. Too many times, however, in my frequent trips as a Muni rider, I see pedestrians walking unsafely or standing unsafely. For instance, just a short time ago one young woman was standing a good three feet out from curb at Geary and Polk as the # 19 bus started making his right turn onto Polk. He had to honk twice to get her attention and then she did not seem to know what to do but she did move back. Just before that a motorist almost failed to stop as the bus crossed Golden Gate Avenue at Larkin and nearly got his front bumper ripped off or worse. Another time I saw the river of a limo (dressed to the tens for a wedding) open the drivers side door just as the bus I was on pulled out of the bus stop which he, the Limo driver was partly obstructing. That resulted in one crumbled door and glass all over the place. Oh well, so much for that wedding duty. Another time on the N-Judah Owl, I witnessed a group of young people exit the bus at the rear door and just stand there, precisely where their feet put them, as the bus began its right turn onto Carl Street. That resulted in the rear tire running over one or more toes of one of the young women in the group.
We need to use common sense and I don't see a lot of pedestrians in this city doing that. Too many act like they can walk anyway, anwhere they want as if they own the road. Then when one of those types gets hit by a Muni bus, it is their (Muni) fault. Come on folks, grow up, get a life! You need to be responsible for what YOU do.
We need to use common sense and I don't see a lot of pedestrians in this city doing that. Too many act like they can walk anyway, anwhere they want as if they own the road. Then when one of those types gets hit by a Muni bus, it is their (Muni) fault. Come on folks, grow up, get a life! You need to be responsible for what YOU do.
Bush vs. Amtrak
Anyone who likes trains should read this piece from the Seattle Times. It is depressing and there is other equally depressing news out there which I will soon call to your attention. The oil men of Texas have it in for Amtrak and we should not let them have their way in this matter.
Brokeback Mountain
One of the hot movies out now is the one about two gay cowboys in Wyoming. I saw it yesterday and left the theatre feeling like I had been drug through the wringer. This has happened to me too much lately. Fortunately it was at the slightly reduced bargain matinee price but still, I could not find anything to enjoy. Perhaps it hit too close to home. I just don't know. I do know this however. I cannot identify with that cowboy/farmer/redneck culture that infects major portions of this country so the movie generally brought back some unpleasant memories from my teen years.
The movie was well acted and in every sense of the word it was a good movie however I have found other movies more meaningful and likely to reduce me to tears at times. One such movie was "Beautiful Boxer". How I would love to have that on DVD, or even VHS, but to date it is not available.
The movie was well acted and in every sense of the word it was a good movie however I have found other movies more meaningful and likely to reduce me to tears at times. One such movie was "Beautiful Boxer". How I would love to have that on DVD, or even VHS, but to date it is not available.
Christmas Customs continued
The religious right and others are complaining about attempts to take Christmas out of the Christmas Holiday when it was the Christians who originally hijacked pagan holidays for their own benefits. You can find more information on this situation here but if that link does not work, continue reading below as one of the articles is reprinted here.
It is generally acknowledged that the Christmas tree is of German origin. In the pre-Christian era the oak was the sacred tree for the Germanic peoples. Legend has it that the missionary to the Germans, St. Boniface, in order to stop sacrifices at their sacred Donar Oak near Geismar, chopped the tree down [725 A.D.]. He is said to have replaced the oak by a fir tree, adorned in tribute to the new-born Christ. Ironically, the evergreen tree has been ascribed magical power by the Germanic peoples as a representation of fertility. Today, the fir and its next of kin enjoy the highest degree of popularity. The Christmas tree custom has spread across large parts of the world.
The church also placed Christ's birth at the time of the winter solstice and fostered as the bringer of gifts St. Nikolaus, the bishop of Myra in Asia Minor, who died on December 6, 343. Christian symbols and earlier historical layers of Germanic mythological figures began to meld, or to live side by side. Consequently, the old German God Wotan, riding the wild skies with his retinue, emerged out of the pre-Christian past.
To this day Nikolaus traditions vary as widely from region to region as his guise and name. He appears as St. Nikolaus (mainly in Catholic areas), Klaus, Nickel, Sünnerklas, Seneklos, Pelznickel, Knecht Ruprecht, Weihnachtsmann and Christkindl (in mostly Protestant areas). He is afoot or astride a white horse, a reindeer, a mule, or even a goat. More diverse than those of the saintly Nikolaus are the many legends and traditions surrounding his often wild companions: the Zwarte Pitt, Hans Muff, Schimmelreiter, Krampus, Leutfresser, Rumpelklas, Schmutzli. A religious myth whose source was in a Semitic nation, was subsequently developed by a Mediterranean people, and finally superimposed on the quite alien mythologies of the Northern Europeans. The result is a wide array of coexisting customs, Christian and Germanic.
Part of the modern American picture of Christmas is that of a magnificent sleigh pulled by eight reindeer carrying a bushy-bearded Santa Claus. The eight reindeer have only been in Santa's service since 1822. That is when Clement Clarke Moore, of Troy, N.Y., wrote his decidedly secular "'Twas the night before Christmas..." Moore's knowledge of popular views of Christmas was based chiefly on the St. Nikolaus customs brought to the area by Dutch, German and Scandinavian immigrants. In the German-speaking countries, and Holland and Belgium as well, December 6 is the most distinctive children's festival of the year. The shops are full of many-shaped biscuits, gilt gingerbreads--sometimes representing the saint--sugar images, toys and other little gifts. On December 5, small children place their shoes on a window sill or in front of the door. If they have a fireplace they will hang their stockings there. In the morning they will find small gifts, an orange and an apple and a small toy.
Forty years after Moore first published his poem, the illustrator and political cartoonist Thomas Nast created the American image of Santa Claus, a combination of Moore's "jolly old elf" and the Pelznickel of Nast's native Bavarian Palatinate. Nast, the son of a Bavarian army bandsman, was born in Landau, in 1840, and came to New York with his parents at age 6. In 1862 he joined Harper's Weekly, primarily as Civil War correspondent and began to produce politically acclaimed cartoons and war sketches. He was asked by a publisher to illustrate a book of holiday poems that included Clement Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Combining imagery from Moore's verse, and his childhood memories of Christmas, Nast created a rotund, bearded, pipe-smoking figure in a woolly suit and cap, carrying a large sack of toys.
In many regions, and also in the U.S., the festivities originally attributed to the gift-giving St. Nikolaus have been transferred from December 6 to Christmas. The giver of gifts is the "Weihnachtsmann" [Santa Claus] or the "Christkindl" [Christchild, an angel]. The latter, misunderstood by Anglophones, became "naturalized" as "Kris Kringle." Christmas customs are perhaps the nicest example for cultural transfer and adaptation resulting in an American tradition with a German touch.
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CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS AND THEIR PAGAN ORIGINS
Because the festive aspects of the German-American Christmas, including the tree, were considered pagan, the Puritans in New England shunned them until about 1875. They were not entirely wrong!
Because the festive aspects of the German-American Christmas, including the tree, were considered pagan, the Puritans in New England shunned them until about 1875. They were not entirely wrong!
It is generally acknowledged that the Christmas tree is of German origin. In the pre-Christian era the oak was the sacred tree for the Germanic peoples. Legend has it that the missionary to the Germans, St. Boniface, in order to stop sacrifices at their sacred Donar Oak near Geismar, chopped the tree down [725 A.D.]. He is said to have replaced the oak by a fir tree, adorned in tribute to the new-born Christ. Ironically, the evergreen tree has been ascribed magical power by the Germanic peoples as a representation of fertility. Today, the fir and its next of kin enjoy the highest degree of popularity. The Christmas tree custom has spread across large parts of the world.
The church also placed Christ's birth at the time of the winter solstice and fostered as the bringer of gifts St. Nikolaus, the bishop of Myra in Asia Minor, who died on December 6, 343. Christian symbols and earlier historical layers of Germanic mythological figures began to meld, or to live side by side. Consequently, the old German God Wotan, riding the wild skies with his retinue, emerged out of the pre-Christian past.
To this day Nikolaus traditions vary as widely from region to region as his guise and name. He appears as St. Nikolaus (mainly in Catholic areas), Klaus, Nickel, Sünnerklas, Seneklos, Pelznickel, Knecht Ruprecht, Weihnachtsmann and Christkindl (in mostly Protestant areas). He is afoot or astride a white horse, a reindeer, a mule, or even a goat. More diverse than those of the saintly Nikolaus are the many legends and traditions surrounding his often wild companions: the Zwarte Pitt, Hans Muff, Schimmelreiter, Krampus, Leutfresser, Rumpelklas, Schmutzli. A religious myth whose source was in a Semitic nation, was subsequently developed by a Mediterranean people, and finally superimposed on the quite alien mythologies of the Northern Europeans. The result is a wide array of coexisting customs, Christian and Germanic.
Part of the modern American picture of Christmas is that of a magnificent sleigh pulled by eight reindeer carrying a bushy-bearded Santa Claus. The eight reindeer have only been in Santa's service since 1822. That is when Clement Clarke Moore, of Troy, N.Y., wrote his decidedly secular "'Twas the night before Christmas..." Moore's knowledge of popular views of Christmas was based chiefly on the St. Nikolaus customs brought to the area by Dutch, German and Scandinavian immigrants. In the German-speaking countries, and Holland and Belgium as well, December 6 is the most distinctive children's festival of the year. The shops are full of many-shaped biscuits, gilt gingerbreads--sometimes representing the saint--sugar images, toys and other little gifts. On December 5, small children place their shoes on a window sill or in front of the door. If they have a fireplace they will hang their stockings there. In the morning they will find small gifts, an orange and an apple and a small toy.
Forty years after Moore first published his poem, the illustrator and political cartoonist Thomas Nast created the American image of Santa Claus, a combination of Moore's "jolly old elf" and the Pelznickel of Nast's native Bavarian Palatinate. Nast, the son of a Bavarian army bandsman, was born in Landau, in 1840, and came to New York with his parents at age 6. In 1862 he joined Harper's Weekly, primarily as Civil War correspondent and began to produce politically acclaimed cartoons and war sketches. He was asked by a publisher to illustrate a book of holiday poems that included Clement Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Combining imagery from Moore's verse, and his childhood memories of Christmas, Nast created a rotund, bearded, pipe-smoking figure in a woolly suit and cap, carrying a large sack of toys.
In many regions, and also in the U.S., the festivities originally attributed to the gift-giving St. Nikolaus have been transferred from December 6 to Christmas. The giver of gifts is the "Weihnachtsmann" [Santa Claus] or the "Christkindl" [Christchild, an angel]. The latter, misunderstood by Anglophones, became "naturalized" as "Kris Kringle." Christmas customs are perhaps the nicest example for cultural transfer and adaptation resulting in an American tradition with a German touch.
-x-x-x-x-x-
So the controversy goes on and on....
Happy Holidays folks!
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Doubles (triples?)
Good grief, in addition to resembling Herbert Blomstedt, former music director of the San Francisco Symphony (according to some people anyway), and Bill Simon, a California politician who ran for governor once (and lost), I now find that as I age, or as Bill Gates ages, we look more alike in some ways. Is this a nightmare or what? This could drive a man to drinking. Ha!
Pagan Roots of Modern Holidays
You can read some interesting material on this subject by clicking here.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Origins of Christmas Holiday
There are many good articles on the Internet regarding this holiday we celebrate on the 25th of December. It is pagan in its origins and I will refer you to several during the course of the next week. One of the shorter articles may be found here.
Spygate?
Oh great, now The Bush and his minions want to spy on people engaged in making international calls or sending email messages to another country. He wants to do without court intervention. Just who the hell does this fascist think he is? Hitler? Congress needs to investigate this and start impeachment procedings immediately? This man is extremely dangerous. How far will he go? There does not seem to any stopping him at this point. Only the election of 2008 will but I fear who the Republicans might try to replace him with should they "win" the election. They didn't win the last two but that is another story. We live in dangerous times but not all of the dangers come to us from outside the country. The terrorists are winning if we lose our freedoms because of Bush and his ilk.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Oh, to be younger and beautiful
Oh lordy, I can't stand it. I find myself in love with my favorite bartender during Happy Hour. Unfotunately there is a 30 years age difference between us which is impossible for him I am sure. It would not be a problem for me but I am sure we don't share that much in common but he is such a sweet guy. I can't stand it sometimes. I want him, I desire him, etc., etc. Oh, for one night with him. Could I take that? Could he take that? Would that change our "professional" relationship as customer/bartender? I would not want to change that so I must repress myself. I can only dream of what might have been if I have met him earlier in my life. As for fantacizing, that does not do me much good as I feel that would only sour my feeling for him as a person and as a very good bartender who knows how to work the crowd. At this, he is an expert. Oh well, as usual, I was born too early in the 20th Century. I do not identify with my age group but I know my desires are way out of line with what other people desire. I also realize that this is equivalent to some sort of high school infatuation with someone of desire whom I can't have. Well, it has not been easy since one of my closest friends died from cancer a few years ago and now I am at the age where beginning a new relationship of any type is next to impossible. Oh, problems, problems, problems. Too bad I cannot travel back in time. Ha! Oh well, this is a hell of a way to come out to many people who did not know much about me but I AM WHAT I AM. I did not ask to be this way as others did not ask to be what they are. Too bad that the religious right has other ideas. They are such fools. Well, time to eat something to counteract the booze in me. hahaha Good night my friends, good night and take care.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Sick
This idea of nominating this multiple murderer, no matter what he has written, for the Nobel Prize is sick, sick, sick!!!
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Crazy, mixed up world
What a world we live in! Supporters of this Tookie Williams character on death row at San Quentin want to see him nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. What B.S. that is! How sick can you get! I don't care what he wrote. His attempt to turn young people away from violence rings hollow. He killed four people and continues to associate with gangs in prison and some people have the gall to suggest he be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Then we have the religious right complaining that some people, including President Bush, are taking the Christmas out of Christmas by substituting the word holiday for Christmas. Well, my friends, the words holidays and Christmas have always been interchangeable on Christmas cards and in verbal greetings but for someone in the Catholic League to complain about Bush's Christmas Card is hilarious. Most biblical scholars agree that Jesus of Nazareth was born in the springtime, not in December. The holiday we really celebrate is a pagan holiday from Europe, not the birth of Jesus. The esteemed Christas tree is pagan so there is nothing wrong with referring to it as a holiday tree but I doubt that anyone cares since it is now all about spending on an orgy of commercial excess. Even if Christ were born on the 25th of December, there hasn't been anything holy about this holiday for years. The corporate world has ruled the roost for years with rampant commercialism.
Then we have the religious right complaining that some people, including President Bush, are taking the Christmas out of Christmas by substituting the word holiday for Christmas. Well, my friends, the words holidays and Christmas have always been interchangeable on Christmas cards and in verbal greetings but for someone in the Catholic League to complain about Bush's Christmas Card is hilarious. Most biblical scholars agree that Jesus of Nazareth was born in the springtime, not in December. The holiday we really celebrate is a pagan holiday from Europe, not the birth of Jesus. The esteemed Christas tree is pagan so there is nothing wrong with referring to it as a holiday tree but I doubt that anyone cares since it is now all about spending on an orgy of commercial excess. Even if Christ were born on the 25th of December, there hasn't been anything holy about this holiday for years. The corporate world has ruled the roost for years with rampant commercialism.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
In-flight Safety
Oh great, now they are going to allow screw drivers (7" or less) on board commercial fights as well as some other items. What is the matter with these people...both the screeners and the passengers who feel the need to bring such things on board? We don't need such items on board a commercial aircraft in the first place and if a passenger actually needs those items at his or her destination, why weren't they placed in the checked luggage in the first place? Such idiots! And all in the name of speeding up the screening process. Yuck! I would prefer not to have to remove my shoes. Do those really present that big of a problem now? Huh? Really?
Locally we have a mystery in Oakland where the City Council has decided to uproot 300 trees at Lake Merritt as part of their beautification project of the lake area. Huh? 300 trees? How is that loss supposed to help beautify the area? Something is not right there. I have never counted the trees there but after living in the area for over ten years, I would guestimate that there are just about 300 trees total lining the banks of the lake. How many years will it take to grow news ones? If city officials think that little of the lake, why not just fill it in and build some more of Jerry Brown's housing units for downtown Oakland there?
Locally we have a mystery in Oakland where the City Council has decided to uproot 300 trees at Lake Merritt as part of their beautification project of the lake area. Huh? 300 trees? How is that loss supposed to help beautify the area? Something is not right there. I have never counted the trees there but after living in the area for over ten years, I would guestimate that there are just about 300 trees total lining the banks of the lake. How many years will it take to grow news ones? If city officials think that little of the lake, why not just fill it in and build some more of Jerry Brown's housing units for downtown Oakland there?
Friday, December 02, 2005
Cody's Bookstore
WOW! I went into Cody's new bookstore on Stockton Street in SF this morning and was surprised by the size of the place compared to their Berkeley store. Its location is right next to Virgin where Planet Hollywood used to be. It seems to be one of the best stocked bookstores in the area and I hope the new location is a success. Check it out and if you like what you see, be sure to tell your friends. And no, this is not a paid advertisement.
Mission Accomplished?
A few years ago aboard an aircraft carrier George Bush said to those assembled, "Mission Accomplished". Well, a few years and a number of deaths later, that mission is still just as dangerous and shows no signs of improving. I am sure that the enemy has not yet uttered the same or equivalent words. I wonder when the mission will really be accomplished. How many more U.S. casualties? How many years before the U.S. Government decides enough is enough? We have created more enemies than ever and the situation will never improve under the present circumstances. We toppled Saddam Hussein but that was the easy part. To install a democratic form of government in a country which has not known such an arrangement is a hopeless situation. What they could use is some sort of a "benevolent dictatorship".
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