Nothing But Love :: golf blogger

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

did you get a butterball?

I LOVE THIS

saw this on tj's blog.

On the Bus

I was on the free Trolley that runs between our street and the Cleveland State University campus, and I overheard a young woman talking on her cell phone. That war in Iraq is still going on:

I did one tour in Iraq, and people have no idea what goes on over there.
[Listening]
On TV, you don't see people shooting at you.
[Listening]
Well, I seen things I never could've imagined I'd see. You don't see that. They don't show you that.
[Listening]
I have pictures. They oughta talk to soldiers who have been there. That's who they really oughta talk to.

Plutonized

The solar system is all screwed up, or maybe the entire universe is screwed up. There used to be nine planets. In case you don't remember them, they were, in no particular order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

Now, there are eight planets because, as you will recall, scientists voted and decided that Pluto is too little to be a planet, even though Pluto has two moons to Earth's one. And Mercury doesn't have a moon, and it's small; but it's a lot closer and looks bigger than it might appear, if it were several jillion miles away just like Pluto.

So, now, scientists calling themselves astronomers and astro-physicists, have a name for what Pluto, now not a planet, is called -- Plutoid.

I ask you, what kind of name is that? Plutoid -- give me a break.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary tells us that "oid" is "[a] suffix or combining form meaning like, resembling, in the form of; as in anthropoid, asteroid, spheroid."

Now, there are other not-quite-planets, Plutoids, out there, which we are supposed to believe resemble Pluto -- Eris, which is bigger than Pluto but farther away from the sun, and Makemake, which is smaller than Pluto, but dimmer and outside Neptune's orbit, and Ceres, which was an asteroid, but is now a Plutoid (which, I understand, does not please Ceres lovers because it was once the biggest asteroid, but is now the tiniest Plutoid).

Pluto has been like totally fucked over by the changing nomenclature. Plutonized, so to speak.

But there's more bad news on the Plutonian front; three "planets" have actually been seen circling a star called HR8799 130 light years away from Earth -- and Pluto, for that matter -- by some astronomers or astro-physicists. And a mere 25 light years away, a "planet" circling a star called Formalhaut was visualized. Usually, scientists deduce the presence of planets -- 300 of them, as of this writing -- going around and around stars by detecting little wobbles in the stars' rotation, which means that something is pulling on the stars, which something is hypothesized to be planets.

These new "planets" are mere specks detected among points of light in the sky. Pluto gets totally fucked over again. Must scientists denigrate Pluto any more than they already have by designating these things that they think they see "planets?" Why not call them by the name scientists already use, planetoids, since scientists seem to believe that these things resemble planets, but don't really know?

Here's the thing. These astronomers and astro-physicists think they know everything -- they announce these discoveries, as if science is the answer to all of the questions in the universe. For all these pesky scientists know, these things they have seen, these tiny specks they think they see and define by Earthly points of reference, could be gigantic, sentient space beings that have simply congregated around a heat source in the cold vastness of outer space to warm up before leaving again on their journeys to other points of light in the universe, searching for other intelligent beings.

That could be true, you know. And, in their travels, they might just chance upon that star 93,000,000 miles away from us and discover teeny, tiny little things moving around on the surface of the third satellite orbiting the star.

Hail Mary

Monday Night Football, starring the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills, was on television last night. I watched it. In the final minute, a close-up of Brady Quinn, who attended the University of Notre Dame, where Touchdown Jesus watches over the football stadium, revealed him kneeling, head bowed, eyes closed, praying. Praying? How can I say that? Well, when the Browns' kicker made his career-longest field goal for three points and the lead a few moments earlier, Brady raised his arms heavenward, looking up in supplication, then pointed to his maker in obvious thanks. He was praying that his team would win, that Buffalo's kicker would miss a long field goal attempt, giving the Browns a victory.

I'm not singling out Brady Quinn. Watch any athletic event. Players make the Catholic sign-of-the-cross (there's a name for that, but I'm far removed in time and space from Sister Mary Ophelia and fourth grade catechism class) or point up toward the ceiling of the arena after a basket. Baseball players make little crosses in the dirt in front of home plate with their bats when facing the opposing pitcher (I know that because, as a catcher, I would then do my own grounds-keeping, prick that I was). Athletes thank the Lord for victory in interviews, dedicate the game to Jesus, and say prayers before and after games.

Brady Quinn signed with the Browns for around $20,000,000 over four years -- a $7,500,000 signing bonus being part of that.

Almost 12,000,000 adults and children went hungry at some point during last year, according to newest reports of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and over 36,000,000 had trouble coming up with money to eat adequately. 691,000 children went hungry during 2007.

In the United States of America.

I'm hoping that Brady Quinn's god was listening to the prayers of all those hungry people last night, rather than Brady Quinn's prayers.

But a lot of those hungry people don't pray for food, having lost faith long ago, faith in their god, faith in their country, faith in their neighbors.

Donate some money -- a few dollars -- to a local food bank. Volunteer some time to help feed some people at the local shelter, church, or school on not only Thanksgiving, but at other times. Prayers don't seem to be working all that well, what with all the moneyed athletes vying for attention and tying up the prayer lines to the Almighty.

Just Sayin'

Richie Havens was right.

What's in a Name?

I was a volunteer inside poll observer for the Obama campaign, one of about 750 in our county, most of them lawyers, last Tuesday. My role was to insure that the voting machines, optical scanners, were operating and operated properly, that people were permitted to case their votes, that the votes were tabulated according to law, and to call in turn-out numbers to Chicago throughout the day. The outside "observers," two at my polling place, one a lawyer from Rochester, New York, and the other, a lawyer from L.A., were to continue the campaign to the 100-foot limit from the polling place, explain confusing aspects of the ballot, answer questions, and ensure that nobody left the line that formed outside the door without voting.

I called in numbers at 10 a.m. At about 10:45, I learned from one of the outside observers, two canvassers were going door-to-door to check to see if anyone in the neighborhood had not voted. That, I thought, was pretty damn cool. They found a few and urged them to come to the polls. Not everyone voted, though. An elderly woman, walking about a quarter mile from her car, suffered an asthma attack; an ambulance was called, and the paramedics worked on her for a half hour, during which time, a voter came in and asked me to go outside. It seems that the elderly guy, with whom the asthma-attacked woman came to vote, was standing, waiting. I didn't know at the time, but I was also in charge of convincing people to vote instead of waiting to see if their companions in ambulances were going to pull through. He voted. Then he went to the hospital to check on his lady friend, but only after promising me he would bring her to vote if she was discharged before the 7:30 closing time. He promised.

I had to be at the polling place, a church, at 5:30 a.m. When I spoke to one of the outside observers Monday night, I gave her the most important job of getting doughnuts, since she wasn't required to be there until about 6:15. I found a doughnut place that opened at 5, but I couldn't make it to the church by 5:30. There was a Dunkin' Donuts next to her hotel, she told me. She brought two dozen. Ruth, who had worked at the polls for 30 years, said, "Nobody ever brought us doughnuts. Hey, everybody, look! William brought us doughnuts!" The other 11 poll workers voiced their thanks after the initial rush of voters ended, and each told me to have a doughnut.

The last few times I visited Dunkin' Donuts, the doughnuts weren't very good. I thought it was the particular store, but the second and third locations I visited were not any better. I couldn't finish even one doughnut. I decided that it was a matter of timing. Twice I visited late in the evening and once late in the afternoon; so, bad timing was the obvious culprit.

I picked up the only peanut-covered doughnut in either box, looking forward to the first-thing-in-the-morning, unhealthy snack breakfast. I tried to choke it down. I really did. But it wouldn't go down. It was terrible.

Here's the thing. The business is called "DUNKIN' DONUTS" for a reason. The company is getting into "gourmet" coffee -- putting bags of coffee in stores, instead of simply having a pot on the burner at the doughnut shop -- and "coolattas," whatever those are, and Latte Lites. And Turbo Hot -- with "real" espresso! Real espresso -- my, my, my. I understand that some people, maybe one or two, love Dunkin' Donuts coffee, swear by it, can't start the day without it; and that's okay. No problem. Really.

But, for crying out loud, the company is serving breakfast omelet supreme bagel and croissant sandwiches and flatbread sandwiches and personal pan pizzas and white hot chocolate.

The operative word in the name is DONUTS.

Work on making the fucking donuts better, please.

You have four years -- or I will send the outside poll observer to Krispy Kreme.

HEALTH CARE, ILLUSTRATED

here's the quote i received for health insurance premiums for bill and me.

we're lucky. we can afford it right now. there was a time not so long ago that we couldn't. i know too many people who can't.

i am so looking forward to what will be proposed in the coming year. a quick look into the cost of the federal employees health care plan shows that this price is not much different. there's going to have to be a LOT of work done on this issue.

BACK TO NORMAL

we spent the morning doing our weekly grocery shopping at the west side market. i picked up some italian chicken sausage, a sirloin steak to make a small pot of beef stroganoff, baby portobellows (for the stroganoff), a nice wedge of au gratin potatoes (lots of prepared foods at the market -- go there if you're ever in cleveland) and a lot of other "stuff."

i unpacked the groceries, and made an apple pie (don't be impressed -- i use frozed rolled crusts). after i put the pie in the oven, i sat down with bill and said: "what do you want for dinner? sausage and au gratin potatoes or stroganoff and au gratin potatoes?"

bill: "i want apple pie and au gratin potatoes."

heh.

OVERWHELMED

i am overwhelmed with pride and gratitude.

some not-so-very-nice thoughts and emotions continue to bubble up to the surface. i admit to feeling a little bit of a "neener, neener, neener" to those who conducted such an incredibly vile, nasty campaign. i'm not just talking about the candidates and their staff. i'm talking about hannity and company, and the vast numbers of "real americans" who went there with the whole bullshit "campaign" and propogated the most incidious email and internet-based rumors and innuendo. this past year has been history-making in so many ways.

that the democratic primary race deteriorated to such an all-time low in terms of character bashing was breathtakingly sad to me. hillary and company behaved terribly. i've never seen this before. she and bill have made fools of themselves and have NOT been able to crawl out of the holes they dug for themselves, try as they did AT TIMES (not wholeheartedly). there were a few times that bill rose to the occasion, as did hillary -- at times they only looked like idiots with sour grapes in their mouths. here's my not-so-silent plea and prayer that the democratic party looks at this and does some quiet talking to potential future candidates with strong warnings to avoid this behavior in the future. do NOT misunderstand me. i believe bill clinton was an INCREDIBLE president, and i had strong faith and hope that hillary would achieve greatness also for herself and our country. unfortunately, she's become a terrific politician.

john mccain gave a lovely speech last night. it did not redeem him in my view. it was hillary all over again. he will have to live with himself -- the worst judge of all (if you are a human being of any substance whatsoever -- if not, karma can be a bitch. or jesus , in his case, might have a few things to say to him). i know people are saying that this is politics, that i should get over it. i know i'm ONLY 54 year's old, but this is NOT just politics. this is worse than it has ever been. and i don't know about you, but i cannot look at these snakes and trust their smiling faces.

i don't know how low we can go in terms of dirty politics. barrack obama has conducted himself with grace and dignity throughout this campaign. i pray that politicians take note of this and reign themselves in. i don't have a lot of faith in this, cynic that i am. the evil that resides in the hearts of too many people is a reality. it will rise to the surface again.

barrack obama, however, IS hope for a new direction. and this morning, i have some hope, too. "I'M PROUD OF YOU, AMERICA! RIGHT ON!"

WHERE BILL HAS BEEN SINCE 5:30 A.M.

he's a poll "monitor" for the obama campaign at a church on the east side of cleveland. 1,500 attorneys in cuyahoga county have volunteered to do this job. i've spoken to him once for about 30 seconds -- it's crazy. i'll be picking him up sometime around 11 p.m.

he's sent me a couple text messages that i want to place here so i don't lose them.

1:37 p.m.
no real lines -- 60 people here before it opened. [opened at 6:30 a.m.]

ELECTION DAY

i guess we've said all we can about this election. i don't think there's any question on where we stand. but that won't stop me from sharing a couple more things.

the rally:

we left the apartment for the walk (less than a mile) to the rally site shortly after 1. the lines were set to open at 2. by the time we reached the point at which the line started, we were told that the end of the line was more than 1/4 mile away. there appeared to be several lines, starting at different points, at least as long. amazing. we bought t-shirts and buttons and decided that instead of getting in one of the crazy lines, we'd walk over to the public space (mall a) with benches situated in front of the main mall (c) where the stage was set up, figuring that there was no way all the people in line could fit in mall c, and that we'd probably be in mall a anyway. at least we'd be able to sit for the 3 hours before the rally was set to start.

i wore my flag shirt (i call it my jerry rubin shirt), bill his obama t-shirt over warmer clothes. on the walk over, cleveland streets were filled with browns fans (always a spectacle in their browns gear) and obama rally people. a browns paraphernalia vendor yelled to me "lady, that's the best shirt i've seen all day!" i said "you know where i'm headed!" him: "i think we just might pull it off!" me: "god, i hope so!" a really nice, friendly atmosphere.

we found an empty double bench with room for our friends who were biking to the site. another young couple came and sat near us. bill always rolls his eyes at me that i talk to EVERYONE. i do. i had a wonderful time with this young couple. when greg and melissa showed up, we all enjoyed each other's company. how could you not? the news reported that the crowd numbered from 60,000 to 80,000. all excited obama people.

i'm guessing the speakers started well after 4. springsteen may have showed up around 5. well worth the wait. he played an accoustic set of his more "folk-y" pieces, including "youngstown" and a really, really cool slow "thunder road." he spoke movingly about obama, and then obama and family came on stage. he spoke confidently and with grace. i was glad that he was a bit more pointed and critical of mccain. it's hard for me to put into words my admiration of the man. no, i don't think he's a "god." pfffft. i think he's a remarkable, dignified, educated, humble, compassionate, exemplary human being. he inspires me to try to be a better woman. i think he makes americans look better than i think many of us are. if he wins, i believe we'll all be better for it.

we walked home in the rain. i was thrilled that we went. we were there.

and then this: i had one of the most mind-blowing conversations of my life with a friend of mine last night. she is a registered democrat, yet admitted she was voting for mccain/palin. i couldn't believe it. "are you freaking kidding me?" do you want mccain, or worse, palin, with his finger on the button during the next "cuban missile crisis? are you freaking kidding me?"

"you're an educated thinking woman! what the hell??!!" her responses indicated that she knows that obama is the smarter choice, but, but... get ready for this... are you ready?... "i just feel deep down that obama has deep terrorist ties."

this absolutely breaks my heart. i'm slightly nauseous writing this. this is what mccain and palin have created. we are on the verge of having a president that a great number of americans believe is a terrorist. politics in this country has deteriorated to this place. yeah, yeah, i know what mccain said to the crazy lady who said that she thinks obama is an "arab" (code word for terrorist to the ignorant hoi polloi). not enough. we all know that mccain/palin people encouraged this kind of thinking. shame on you. shame. and shame on you IDIOTS who bought into this.

and if mccain/palin wins -- well that's the worst shame of all. john mccain is just a shadow of who he was in 2,000. a shadow. a man who tried to live SOME of his life with integrity has deteriorated to this. this awful shell. if god still loves john mccain, he'll let him lose this election. then he can live the rest of his life trying to redeem himself instead of embracing his ghost.

i'm afraid. and excited. going back and forth. i want to say that i can't wait for tomorrow, but i am soooo afraid that tomorrow will be a day of absolute, utter despair for me and more than half of the american population OR a day of fear to the rest of america that our new president is a terrorist.

thank you, john mccain. america first. pfffft. bullshit.

OFF TO OBAMA RALLY

and springsteen!

Manchurian Candidate

What if he was brainwashed? What if there's a signal, then he takes the country down?

After all, McCain spent 5 1/2 years in the custody of the Communists in Viet Nam. What do we really know about John McCain? And his years in the hands of torturers. And what they persuaded him to do.

What if he was brainwashed? What might he do? What might the Communists have done to him when Viet Nam was the enemy of all that was great and holy?

Is he a sleeper? Brainwashed. Silent. Waiting.

And what's with Cindy McCain -- who looks like an automaton. Controlled by others. The phone call will come. The Queen of Hearts will be revealed.

Remember. The truth is always far stranger.