Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Ignorance is not Bliss

Today while looking at Facebook, I see this posting by a "friend" (i.e. not really a personal friend, but a friend of many people do know personally for many years, so I added her as well).

"DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN."

There were four comments to this posting, all saying how funny it was or how much they agree with it. I couldn't believe it. People really think its funny to wish death on someone?? They do realize that's what this post means, right?

I didn't like George Bush, but it certainly never occurred to me to wish him death, even as a joke. I am just astounded by the vitriol and antagonism that people have against Obama. I may not agree with everything Obama does, but I still respect him as a person and as our President, same as I had to do with Bush, although I liked him a lot less.

It still amazes me that some people think Obama is not a natural American citizen. Get over it! Don't you think that if that was true, it would have been confirmed way before the election and certainly before he took over the office. That there are people that still harp on this clear falsehood just goes to show (a) how stupid/uneducated so many people are in this country; and (b) how willing so many people are to spread lies in order to get their way.

And many of these people call themselves Christian too. Its just heartbreaking that people have perverted the teachings of Jesus to whatever suits their selfishness. I may not go to church every week, but I still think I lead a more Christian life than so many of these fanatics.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprise that there is so much hate going around given the 'airwaves of hate mongering' by the likes or Limbaugh and Beck. What's worse is that they know what they are doing (which makes them worse than the likes of Sarah Palin, who is just ignorant - I mean seriously, her saying she knows about Russia because she could see it from her house is like me saying I know auto mechanics because I drive a car). They prey on those that are ignorant and blissfully wish to remain so (which is almost as bad).

In this day and age, its just astounding how many people seem to want to return to the dark ages, where fear, hate and ignorance ruled the day for the few in power. Its so easy to get true information these days, although I admit one sometimes does have to wade through lies to find it. Still, anyone with a little bit of effort can find the truth. That people who have lost their jobs and suddenly find themselves with a lot of time choose to take the easy road, go to teaparty rallies and just chant along with the crowd instead of taking the available time to educate themselves as to the truth behind the issues is just sad.

I know I certainly hope that the educated, intelligent, thoughtful way prevails in our national elections for a while, so that those that willfully choose to remain uninformed will realize that ignorance is not bliss.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Book Review

Ok, time for more reflective posting after my work-rant. I've been through quite a few books recently, so I thought I'd share my thoughts.

"Caught" by Harlan Coben. One of my favorite authors serves up another good thriller. Got a bit unrealistic toward the end, I thought, when the viral marketing, which previously was somewhat based on truth, went quite a bit overboard. Still, it shows how the power of the internet makes a big difference in our news today. Also, a good cautionary tale to parents, how you must 'parent' your kids, not be their friend. Its one thing to allow one's kid to have a few sips of wine with dinner when their a teenager, its another to host a keg party.


"Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I only read this book because I had read a review of her current book, "Committed" and saw that it was about marrying a non-US Citizen and at least involved some of the wonderful dealings with the INS. Given my own interactions with him, I was curious to see what she wrote. However, it was the sequel to the prior book, so I had to read that first (I hate starting something in the middle). I liked the book, it did well showing the extremes and trying to find balance. Not reading anything by Gilbert previously, I don't know if any prior books discussed more of her marriage life, I did feel that I was missing something, the prologue to "Eat, Pray." Still, I could empathize with being on one path, only to find out it wasn't quite right and needing to change things up to find the better way. I started this book about the same time Lost returned to TV, so naturally I perked up at the whole 108 bit and wonder if the Lost writers intended the connection (of course they did). So now going to get the second book from the library.


"Best Friends Forever" by Jennifer Weiner. I really enjoyed her first couple of books. Based in Philly, main character is a lawyer and usually on the heavy side. Something to which I could relate. The plots were decent as well. However, this book was a poor effort. Very superficial and cliche. The characters were not developed well at all, especially the cop. The story line seemed very thin as well. I guess a deadline forced a very rushed book. I hope she takes her time more with the next one.

"Marley & Me" and "Longest Trip Home" by John Grogan. Another Philly writer. Great books, very funny and "Marley" is wonderful as a book, although the bit at the end takes longer to complete, so you cry more. I miss Grogan as an Inquirer writer. After reading these two, I checked out a couple of other books from the library, compilations of his Inquirer articles that were put together by the newspaper. Its a shame that they didn't consult with Grogan on these books, invited him to write a prologue or edit. I loved reading the articles again (some for the first time, as I had missed some when initially published). I recalled reading about Kate Gosslin back when she first had the sixtuplets and was a controversial person even then.


"Julie and Julia" by Julie Powell. This one is long. Yeah, another book I'm on the late train with. But probably more people saw the movie rather than read the book (I haven't yet, another habit of mine, I always try to read the book before seeing the movie). I would have liked to have read the actual blog (which I had presumed this was, a'la "Sex in the City"), but this was more of a book about the blog. I gather some portions of the blog were rewritten for the book and expanded upon, but it was clearly completely reviewed and redone after the fact and I would have been more interested in reading the process as it went along. I wonder if by really searching the internet one could find the original blog, probably not, no doubt the publisher made Julie Powell remove the blog so as not to impinge on book sales.

Anyway, as to the subject itself, I was interested because I cook from Julia Child all the time, or at least once I married a frenchman. And naturally as I'm reading it, I'm thinking, I could have done this, why didn't I think of this. Of course, I really couldn't have done this. I had interests outside of my job (other than drinking and watching TV that is, which appear to have been Julie's) so I never would have had the time to devote to finding all the esoteric ingredients and cooking all the recipes. I admit, I'm also reading this book with the knowledge that Julie Powell eventually separated from her husband and engaged in several affairs, so reading portions of the book about how great their marriage is, how annoyed she is with her philandering friend, how much she depends on Eric and appreciates his support, seem well, rather hollow in retrospect. Still, I enjoy reading about her experiences in trying to get the dishes right and struggling with eggs and aspic (which I'd never eat either, blech). If nothing else, I'm glad this book (and movie) and exist because now its easier to find certain ingredients in normal grocery stores (like marrow bones - hooray!). I've got the movie in my Netflix queue, so I'll get to it eventually. I'm not interested in reading Powell's follow-up however, I've read too many very negative reviews and frankly, the subject matter isn't all that interesting to me.


I'm currently in the middle of several other books (one in my briefcase for commuting, one by the TV for commercials, one upstairs by the bed), "Nanny Returns" by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Krause (follow-up to "The Nanny Diaries"), "Think Twice" by Lisa Scottoline, and "Divine Misdemeanors" by Laurell K Hamilton. I also started "The Audacity of Hope" by Barak Obama, which I'll return to as my commuting book (because its in paperback and lightweight) after the "Nanny" (which I borrowed). Also will be checking out "Committed" by Elizabeth Gilbert from the library probably later this week. Finally, I recently bought the last two Dick Francis books, "Silks" and "Even Money" and "My Life in France" by Julia Child. I'll report on these another time.