Filed under: happenings
Yesterday I paused to admire 228 congresspersons whom actually voted based on conviction, the voices of who they represent, or both. Today was a victory for the free market and democracy.
But there are a few things I don’t get…
- Pelosi & Bush. So Pelosi is on the floor of the House talking about how flawed W’s policies have been (which they may be, but they are not the cause of this current situation), yet she and W are on the same page as far as getting the bailout through. How is that possible? In any other situation, the ridiculousness would be akin to watching monkeys fling poo at each other:Someone tries to sell me a car, and he goes to get his sales manager whom also wants me to buy the car, but the sales manager gives a grand speech about how flawed the salesperson is just before I sign the contract. Why would I sign the contract?! What the hell is going on here?!That’s what happened today. Monkeys flinging poo.
- Too complex? Many of those whom want the bailout say that there are grim consequences if it’s not done, but no one will give hard facts or analysis. All we get is hyperbole about another Depression, etc. If that’s the possibility, then just tell me. I mean, we have Al Gore explaining how mankind has ruined the planet (myth) in all it’s details, yet We The People cannot understand how the money situation came to be? My hunch is that someone(s) whom are not Republicans are behind it. If there was even one Republican to blame with hard facts, the hearings would be happening right now, taking him or her to the gallows. The fact that it’s not happening leads me to believe that the news cycle is protecting one of their own.
- Where will it actually GO?! Say the Dems can get their party in order – have the majority at this point in history, and do not need Republican support to pass anything – and pass a bill that authorizes the $700B. Then what? When Big Daddy Govt. actually spends this money, where will it go? To whom? I’m sure “financial institutions,” but then where? If it’s my/our money shouldn’t there be a big say in the ultimate destination over a period of time (I will concede that money cannot be held indefinitely). It’s the one thing that I’ve not heard anyone talk about yet: Where will the money go, and to whom?
- Why is Obama trying to take credit for a solution that doesn’t exist yet? CBS propped this guy up pretty hard with a series of softball questions Sunday morning, allowing him to basically take credit for any possible solution. I sat there watching, amazed at how an otherwise respectable journalist could sell his soul to allow Sen. Obama to say those things. I am frustrated the McCain won’t explain in simple terms the Freddie/Fannie debacle and how Carter/Clinton/modern-day-Dems are well documented to be the source of all those failures,
What strange friends this whole mess has made. I read the viral message sent by Michael freaking Moore, and found myself agreeing with his ultimate point. Totally disagreed with how he arrived there, but we agree on the end result.
All of this is very timely for me. Late last week our business finally arrived at a point where need operating capital for the growth we’re experiencing, so we put in our application this past Friday. On top of that our house has been on the market for a few months now, though I don’t think anyone will buy it at the price it’s set at. That is a point of great contention between wife and I, and so I won’t write about it. Suffice to say, we’re here in the path of the situation, and it’s nice to have faith in something much bigger and infinitely more secure. Otherwise I think I’d be in bad shape.
Yesterday I turned 32 years old. Most of it was spent in memorable ways, as we were in southern Illinois with family, and it was Garrett’s first trip to the old family farm and southern Illinois. It was so cool to be there for all of it.
My dad has two antique tractors that used to be my grandpa’s, and so Garrett got to sit up and “drive” one of the two with my dad. Garrett was a total natural – wasn’t scared by the big machine or anything. Just sat up there, studied what my dad was doing, as if he were trying to pack it in his head to remember some day.
The day previous was a family reunion where we got to visit family I see maybe ever two years or so. Garrett has a distant cousin also named Garrett, and it turned out they were dressed the same! White onsie + camo shorts. They are 8 months apart, but family blood in both was apparent.
Aside from my wife forgetting it was my birthday, it was a good day. That “do to others as you want to be treated” works the other way, I guess. Andrea looks at birthdays and holidays as just another day. No big deal. At all. We couldn’t be more different on this, so the way it works is this: I honor her not wanting to make a big deal out of birthdays and holidays, and in turn she treats me the way she wants to be treated. I think that falls into the “head I win, tails you lose” category. Oh well. That’s what marriage is like in the majority of cases.
I watched the first debate, and while I didn’t see a clear “winner,” I left the debate thinking that I had just witnessed a man and a boy talking policy and America. I became physically uncomfortable at a few points when Obama wagged his finger at McCain, talking down to him. Plus Obama came across as condescending and arrogant – two traits I hadn’t seen in him before the debate.
I was very frustrated by McCain’s not putting the Freddie/Fannie/Economy squarely on the shoulders of the Democrats. He has more than enough facts for this, and yet leaves it to the pundits to communicate. Thursday will be very interesting. Hopefully the moderator can stop the whole “gotcha!” bullshit that Gibson and Couric fed their egos with. Palin flat-out told us she’s not going to try and impress or “run with” the old guard media, so I’m scratching my head as to why people are so down on her for not coming across well in her interviews so far. She freaking told us what was coming, delivered, and yet dolts across America wring their hands and licking chops waiting for Thursday. I don’t get it.
Thirty-two. Man…time is flying by.
This week I’ve had time to think more on one of the other “three big things” – or whatever I called them – that I wrote about a month or more ago. I tend not to read back on my blog until at least a year has passed; it’s just more fun that way.
With all the power outages and wind storm damages here in Cincinnati, I witnessed a lot of impromptu community happening in the yards and on the porches of an otherwise very secluded small Cincinnati neighborhood.
It dovetailed nicely into a topic I’d been giving a lot of thought to over the summer, that being the action (and thought behind) pursuit in community. What role does it play in building authentic community? How does one navigate all the tenuous boundaries of today’s very private American culture? Why is “pursuit” on my mind so much?
I started with the last question, and during one of my walks I take every evening I sort of unloaded to God on the topic. I didn’t realize I had so much built up behind such a simple word… pursuit, being pursued, pursuing people for their friendship, and so on. I won’t write what I ranted about. That part is not for a blog. But once I had spent 20 or so minutes ranting, I saw that the questions shooting back in my head were like a small rudder on a ship turning it 180-degrees back toward me.
Introspection followed, as I began examining what the last year had unfolded in opportunities seized for me to pursue a new friend, a new client, an experience, etc. I realized that most of my new friendships and experiences were in fact the result of pursuit: Mostly me pursuing a person or situation.
I then had to ask a tough question: In the areas where I feel the most discomfort or hurt, what actions am I pursuing to help remedy them? That was probably the most interesting, personally.
Relationships that I feel are lacking depth are partially so because I am not doing that which I thought I was doing – I’m not pursuing the people I want to have in my life on a regular basis. Clients for my business are not present in part because I spend over 90% of time available work time doing existing-client work, and the remaining 10% doing upkeep of our business rather than pursuing new opportunities. Experiences that I want to have are not memories because I’ve not pursued them! I’ve lived in Cincinnati for over 5 years, and have yet to go to even ONE of Cincy’s art museums. People that know me would be amazed by that. I have no excuse. I’ve not pursued it. Lastly, my neighbors: The past 6 months have been rich in getting to know them more. As I type my neighbors behind us still don’t have power, and an industrial strength power cord runs from an outlet in our house to their refrigerator. Had I not pursued them and my other neighbors I would not have been in a position to help them now.
All of this paints a pretty strong case for pursuit in building community. After all, community – to me – is built around relationships and experiences. They often work in tandem to build a stronger connection within community.
But it’s not without cost, and that is where I am at now.
The risk and potential cost of pursuit is rejection or – worse – indifference. I’ve found myself with relationships and experiences that hang in the balance of indifference and something deeper. There are mines out there. Everyone is “busy” doing “stuff.” I admit, some “stuff” is legit, but a lot of it is one’s personal preferences on how to communicate and befriend others. Heck, I’m blogging about this topic right now, which says a lot in and of itself.
It’s the x-factor that should be noted, because it’s just a fact of life that with people and experiences, not all are compatible with me/you. Some people are simply not going to like being around me, and some experiences are simply not going to be for me either. I really, really don’t care for the Impressionist art movement. There was a time when I would launch into anyone I could talk art with about how the Impressionists were nothing but lazy dolts with no talent, and to call it “art” was a high insult to what true art is. I’m not quite so passionate about my distaste in Impressionist works, but there’s no way I’m going to a gallery or museum that favors that movement. It’s just not “me.”
The real kicker is when trying to swallow rejection, how to process it. The worst is processing indifference. I have nothing to say to that.
Questions still abound. I think one reason why I’ve been drawn to thinking about pursuit is that it’s so applicable. It is not aloof. Even as I type I’m trying to decide I shall pursue solace tonight or an evening with friends.
Wrapping this up… pursuit matters. I would probably argue for stronger language to support just how much it matters – how important to the fabric of our lives. Pursuit not only enriches the people I’m pursuing because they feel wanted, but it also enriches my life because of the shared relationships and experiences. How one navigates the mines is not something I think I can write about because it’s too relative to any given experience or person. But if there’s one thing I can accept so far in my thinking it’s that pursuit matters and I have much to work on.
This will be short.
Just read a blog over at Brand New that combines two of my loves in life: Metallica and Branding.
Sunday brought a freak wind storm that isn’t getting much national play since it pales in comparison to what Ike did to parts of Texas. But that’s not new. During Katrina Cincinnati had a would-be national headline making story in a railroad tanker that sat for days exuding a pressurized stream of an unknown gas near Lunken Field air strip. Details were sparse and some hyper-sensitive (and ad dollar hungry) local media types wondered aloud about terrorists. But with Katrian being a much bigger story, it didn’t make a wave outside the I-275 loop.
And so goes the tropical storm force winds that unexpectedly pounded us here in the Ohio Valley for several hours on Sunday.5 deaths as of tonight.
Just to the north of where I live, wind gusts reached 84 mph in West Chester. Otherwise the gusts averaged around 70 mph everywhere else with sustained winds of 55 mph for around 3-5 hours, depending on where you live.
The Ohio Valley is beautiful, and as a transplant I’m not prone to taking the scenic hills, ample greenspace, and many trees for granted. But in a wind storm like we had, the downside to all those trees around houses, big and small, become very apparent.
Tonight I went for a walk in my little city and the damage to homes, streets, and power/phone lines was something I have never seen before. Looks like footage of what I’ve seen in tornado aftermath or something like it. We were without power yesterday for about 7 hours. Two days previous Andrea allowed our business to switch to AT&T and sign up for iPhone so we had that to keep us up to date on outtages, etc. At one point Duke Energy said something like 80%+ of it’s customers were without power – last I counted that was around 650,000+ homes and businesses.
Gas is hard to come by, too. Long lines monitored by police are common to see, and the price has spiked up to over $4.15 per gallon. It’s a mess.
But during my walk tonight I couldn’t have been in higher spirits at what I saw happening. Our block has power but the majority of my little city does not, so as I took my nightly 2 mile walk, I saw A LOT of people out in their neighborhoods yucking it up with neighbors, laughing or helping cut down branches and rake yards. I saw porches with… gasp! … PEOPLE on them! Playing cards, playing a guitar here and there, or just talking around candles. I saw sidewalks full of kids playing outdoors, Baby Boomers walking dogs and – OMG – smiling.
Community is a force, man. It’s really freaking attractive. When “community” is promoted it is fake and unauthentic. When community just happens due to whatever, it strums a chord in our psyche – a chord of harmony with other people. I love it.
Adding to the communal scenery was something both sad and sweet: The smell of dead trees and cool pre-autumn air. It was, like I said, both sad and sweet. On one hand I have high respect for trees. I’m not a tree-hugger or anything like that, but I do marvel at the simplest of neighborhood tree, and confess that I’ve taken a few life lessons from just starring at a few of them. On the other hand, the branches and entire trees that fell filled the air with their different fragrances. It was so rich and live-giving. Hard to explain just how fragrant my walk was, enriching.
Filed under: happenings | Tags: Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals, Marvin Lewis, Ocho Cinco
Dear Bengals Fans,
I moved to your city – gulp – 5 years ago, just after the arrival of both Carson and Marvin. Since the Bengals are an AFC, and my Bears are an NFC team, coupled with the fact that I could never cheer a baseball fan other than the Cubs, I logically arrived at the idea of adopting a team from my new city, the Bengals. It was hard to swallow at first, but Carson, Chad, TJ, etc. made a case for acceptance.
So I went for it. I adopted this team, baggage and all. I set aside every Sunday afternoon for the games, we bought game food, and my little dog learned to bark when I stood up cheering or screaming. Fun times.
And who can forget the 2005 season?! So much promise, until those dirty Steelers and Kimo ruined the party. At that time I hated the Steelers more than the Packers – and that’s saying a lot!
But then I started to notice a few things in the 2006 season. A general unwraveling. Marvin’s pressers became even more generic – if that’s possible – and there was a cloud over the team. That game on Christmas even in Denver was the first time I actually nearly cried after a game. That was a tough one to lose.
Last season the problem, to me, became apparent: This was a top-level management problem, and it didn’t matter who you threw into the system, this team is designed from the top down to suck.
In the last month this team let go of 3 Pro Bowl players, and signed a man with 5 arrests in less than as many years after releasing and vowing they were done with him. This team said they would blow up the play book, yet every pre-season game I saw I was able to predict almost every play the Bengals ran. I am a graphic designer, so I’m sure the guys whom actually notice this stuff REALLY notice it. Sunday’s embarassing loss to the Ravens proved that this entire on-field team has given up.
Here’s how I see it: In Mike Brown you have an owner who is a bottom-line watching guy. He’s something that needs to be profitable, and this team is just that. But in order to do that he has to cut corners: No GM, an unrealistic scouting staff, and a medical team that is straight out of a Simpsons episode. He chooses the players, not Marvin, whom are drafted, and he also chooses whom is resigned (see: Chris Henry). In essence and in reality, Mike Brown runs this team from the top down, and the players have turned into “pay check” mantra chanting employees, not football players.
What’s more, Marvin is done. You can see it in his body language and eyes. Whatever effort he is putting out is for his next gig as a D-coordinator somewhere else. I think last season (‘07) was his season to process all of this, and come to terms with the fact that he has no control and ever will as long as the Brown family are owners.
So what’s a fan base to do? If you’re a life-long Cincinnatian, might I point out that the Colts play just 90 minutes away, or that da Bears play just 4.5 hours away? Both are winning organizations, historically speaking.
As for me, I’m dropping my Bengals fandom. I wish them well, and I hope Carson and TJ can get out of their contracts to sign with a team that needs them. I’d love to see Carson in Navy and Orange. Hell, I’d love to see TJ up there, too. But with Mike Brown in charge, doubt that will happen.
Good luck to you, Bengals fans. I know you went through a lot in the 90s. Hope this time around isn’t quite so salty.
First up, my Obama funny:
My wife took this photo, as I drove past the Cincinnati Obama-Biden HQ located in Woodlawn. This was the second time this sign had been displayed, and the second time it had partially fallen. The sign stayed as it is above for 3 days. Sometime it’s the smallest things that say so much.
Friday night I got to reconnect with a Judson pal after discovering we lived near each other. Like me, he’s a Cubs fan, and I had 2 tix to Friday night’s game so we partook. Good thing he and I had a lot of catching up to do because the Cubbies lost in miserable fashion.
Saturday was sort of BLAH. We tried to go to AT&T to get the business’ iPhone set up, but didn’t have our tax ID on hand, so we just enjoyed a few hours with Garrett at the grandparents. We had a simple lunch out, then drove around our favorite neighborhood.
Today, Sunday, we awoke and frantically got prepared to head to the mid-day Cubs game here in Cincy, and then straight to house church afterward. Garrett was such a trooper during the game – he’s Mr. Extrovert… loves being out around his people. The Cubs lost in dramatic fashion, and I realized that they lost the only game I saw them play last September here, too. So no more September Cubs games for me.
House church was interesting as always. Topics covered: Sex, marriage, politics, racism, and homosexuality. Among other things. Admittedly, I think we could have used some discipline in our discussion, but it’s part of the process. I think we need a few gatherings that create a hunger for discipline. It was good nonetheless, though. I love these people more each time we gather, and do not take these budding friendships for granted at all.
McCain/Palin and the Obama’s will be nearby this week: Cincy (Michelle), Lebennon (McCain/Palin), and Dayton (Barak).
It has been suggested, and maybe even proven, that the last presidental election came down to the county I live in – or at least the region I live in. Ohio hung in the balance, and Southwest Ohio is considered “ground zero” for many politicians. Whereas Columbus and Cleveland may be more national appeal in terms of media play, Cincinnati has the most weight of the state in terms of national elections. I look for many more appearances by the candidates. I will be passing by Lebennon on Tuesday so I might just have to drift over to catch a little McCain/Palin.
Filed under: happenings
What a difference a week makes. Actually, the most change happened within 24 hours of Obama’s Barakopolis speech, which was a monumental dissapointment for me – then an undecided voter. McCain has really surprised me in this race so far. He has fight in him, and I find myself identifying with his fight more and more.
To be clear, though, McCain is not my first, second or third choice to be atop the GOP ticket. My guy was Ron Paul, and even as I type tonight I wish it were he that will speak tomorrow night. But he’s not, McCain is, and up until McCain tapped Palin I was planning or leaning on voting Obama just to teach the GOP a lesson, just as I did when I voted for Sherrod Brown in ‘06. DeWine is no Conservative, and I helped vote his ass out of the Senate, gladly.
When McCain became the apparent winner of the nomination process, and as we approached the conventions, he began a strategic fight that I’m not sure the Obama folks thought he had in him. It has resonated with me and others I know. Then he tapped Palin, one of two wish-list possibilities I dreamed of, and for the last 5 days Big Media has put her through way more scrutiny than Obama has received in 19 months.
What Big Media is doing to her 17 year old daughter, and 4 month old special needs son is inexcusable. Yet my gut tells me their antics are working to help the McCain/Palin ticket, which is not an appropriate dish of justice, but somewhat satisfying nonetheless.
Tonight, though, as my wife and I watched Gov. Palin give her speech, I saw the future of “mainstream” Conservatism emerge. There are some very bright lights on the horizon – folks with substance whom are going back to basics in terms of Conservatism. I really thing Bush II was the far-swing of the pendulum that was needed to bring the party back to its senses.
I realized that what this last week has given me is a sense of enjoyment for the political process. That enjoyment hasn’t been around in a long, long time. Bush gave a taste of it in his first run, but that was about it. Hearing Palin speak, watching McCain run a very well-thought out campaign, and hearing the conversations around it really have me engaged.
Taking a note from the aforementioned rising stars of Conservatism, I’ve remembered why I believe what I believe. Now that wife and I are business owners, these beliefs are underscored several times over.
To boil down this election, Obama’s policies will negatively impact my business by way of his proposed new taxes and mandatory health care coverage, and McCain is proposing to cut my taxes. Add to that a pro-life platform, and that’s about all I need. I’m now just enjoying the ride. I look forward to seeing this all unfold.
