The End…

Has it really been almost six months since I posted?

 Yeah well, I never said I was on a schedule or anything…

I have thought several times of jumping back in but so much has happened in my blog-absence that I felt if I starting explaining it all, I might never get up from the computer… so I won’t try to  explain.

I considered re-starting because, of course, I still have some things to say. But, if I were to do that at this point, it would be a completely new start up, new name, new blog and probably a very limited scope of discussion. Like a music blog or a wine making blog…

The truth is, I don’t think I have maintaining a blog in me any longer. It was fun while it lasted, sometimes educational and I met some really cool people but it’s just not me now. It’s sort of sad for me in a way to make it final, even after six months, but I think this will officially be my last post.

All I have to do now is decide what to do with the remains of this here beast…

Merry Krishna and Happy Christmakwanzakah

 This happens every time of year I don’t know what to do
When I’m feelin all cheery and I wanna give a greeting ’cause I’m in the holiday mood

And I go scrambling in my brain, tryin’ to guess what they celebrate
Then I give it all up and I cover my bases and this is what I say:

Merry Krishna, Merry Krishna, Happy Chrismakwanzakah
Merry Krishna, Merry Krishna, Happy Chrismakwanzakah

Like the other day I was shovelin’ snow and I saw my neighbor Akhmed
He was stringin Buddha beads on his Christmas tree with a yarmulke on his head
He said “Why don’t you come by later for the festival of lights? Be here at 8, that’s when we meditate”.
I said “Hell, why not. Alright!” and I say:

Merry Krishna, Merry Krishna, Happy Chrismakwanzakah
Merry Krishna, Merry Krishna, Happy Chrismakwanzakah

Don’t say I’m waterin’ religion down, I’m just including people all around
Isn’t that what the whole deal’s about? Don’t wanna leave nobody out
I don’t care what you believe on Hanukkah or Christmas Eve
Ramaddan and Kwanzaa too I’m just trying to be nice to you

It’s all colliding, what’s a guy to do? Don’t wanna go and offend anybody
Are they Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Jew?
You can’t tell by looking and it don’t feel right to guess
Buyakasha, frickin’ kumbaya, it’s all the same
God Bless and I say Merry Krishna, Merry Krishna, Happy Chrismakwanzakah

“Chrismakwanzakah” by The Dan Band

Listen to full track at lastFM

Doctor, Doctor…

Let me begin by admitting what a bad blogger I have been. This has, by far, been my least productive year in terms of posts written and even more so considering reading and commenting on others’ blogs. I will spare you the detail but of course there are reasons… I had been considering shutting the thing down completely but then decided to try again in the current month to see if I still had it in me. There were some political thoughts I wanted to put out and a series of holiday music posts, maybe some advent prayers and so on…

But then it happened.

My yearly sinus infection has become something of a running joke on the blog. At this point I’m having trouble finding much humor in it. Right before Thanksgiving, I felt it coming on but like always, put off going to the doctor as long as I could. Actually much longer than I should have. They tested me for H1N1, strep and a bunch of other stuff and concluded that I had a simple but very severe sinus infection. A steroid and an antibiotic shot followed by a two-week regimen of daily steroid doses, a decongestant and an incredibly strong oral antibiotic should clear me right up. Well sure, except that the antibiotic did a major number on my digestive system (again, I’ll spare you the details) and the steroids did some weird things to me too but I took all the meds and was starting to feel better.

After the major symptoms had cleared up, I still had some congestion and began to feel some strange pressure building in my right ear. Again I kept thinking it would clear up on its own but when I found I could hear nothing in my ear, I knew I had to do something. Earlier this week, I broke down and went back to the doctor. They checked me out and did all the tests over again and concluded that the sinus infection was all cleared up but I had a lot of fluid in my right inner ear. Thanks. Then the doctor looked into my left ear with that little scope thing and said “Oh wow!” Yeah, that’s what you want to hear… well, half hear anyway. She asked if I had noticed any loss of hearing in my left ear and when I said, “No” she said, “That’s probably only because your other one is so much worse…”

I then spent the next three hours, off and on, having various kinds of medicated goo and liquids pumped into my ear-holes and then having a hunk of something pulled out of my left ear. Disgusting, but I immediately understood what the doctor meant - I could instantly hear about 50% better. Then, joy of joys, I got another steroid and antibiotic shot and another three prescriptions. Thankfully, it’s a different antibiotic this time which isn’t quite as bad.

I still cannot hear completely out of my right ear but it’s getting better day by day. Hopefully it will improve even more by Christmas.

The whole month-long ordeal has ruined any plans I had to get back into blogging regularly this month so I am back to debating with myself about continuing… 

At the very least, though, I have now written at least one post in each month of 2009!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day.

This Is It

We took the kids to see “This Is It” at the theater today… I went somewhat reluctantly, not exactly being a big MJ fan…

I don’t know what I dreaded more, the thought of seeing the abject Jacko weirdness up close and personal or the cringe factor of some slapped together crap designed solely to make money off yet another dead guy.

Well, I must say that it was neither. Not in totality at least. In all honesty, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a good movie. Not great, mind you and it didn’t turn me into a Jacko fan by any stretch… but it was fairly balanced, pretty well done and, for the most part, entertaining.

 I will even go as far as to recommend it.

After all, it IS Halloween…

Bama Wins and Loses at the Same Time

Nick Saban just said “This was a great win for Alabama…”

 The # 1 (or # 2) ranked team in the nation wins against unranked Tennessee by 2 points (and barely at that) without being able to score a single touchdown.

Really? Nick? “A great win”?

It just goes to prove my old saying: “Nick Saban is a complete and utter idiot”.

If you are an Alabama fan and are celebrating right now, you are just as fupid as your coach.

# 1, huh?

Right.

Photos From Savannah

More photos from our trip to Savannah…

A Glorious Dawn

 That thing I said about “They Might Be Giants” appearance on NPR’s Science Friday possibly being the coolest thing ever?  Uh…

Sorry, TMBG, you just got pwned!

Just A Little Something I Made…

YOU LIE!

You’ve no doubt seen it, or heard it, dozens of times by now – Joe Wilson shouting “You Lie!” as president Obama truthfully insisted that his proposed changes to health care “would not apply to those who are here illegally”.

You know, I’m all for free speech. Joe Wilson is entitled to his opinion – financially motivated though it is. And he’s entitled to his opinion even if it is factually incorrect. And I firmly believe he has every right to express his factually incorrect, financially motivated opinion in any way he chooses. If, that is, he is willing to accept the consequences of doing so in such a totally inappropriate manner and venue.

The thing that bothers me most about the whole debacle is that Wilson is representative of the increasing number of folks who confound “my desire” or “my belief” with “the truth”… as if anyone who disagrees with me must be lying.

As if the President must be lying simply because Mr. Wilson believes differently.

Perhaps the genteel souls who schooled me in American civics, government, history and political science were the real liars. Maybe it was they who lied when they told me that, above its sometimes crass exterior, politics was an honorable pursuit. Possibly they were the ones who fibbed when they taught us that leading was something to be admired and that underneath the sometimes vehement debates were substantial discussion leading to consensus and improved governance. Maybe the real whopper was the idea that truth can be discovered by sharing knowledge and carrying out civilized discourse.

I guess they all got it wrong.

It’s really all about who can shout the loudest.

Thanks for clearing that up, Joe.