Memorial Wings

It's a quiet Monday here in Los Angeles, with most of the city relaxing over one more barbecue with friends.

Or it would be quiet if there weren't the periodic drone of old piston-driven props overhead, as a squadron of WWII-era dive bombers or T-6 trainers make the Memorial Day requisite fly-by of military machinery.

Something about an old plane pleases me more than seeing a B-2 sneak its stealthy (but not that quiet) way overheard, but I still wonder why we have to beat the drum.

After all, this day is meant to remember the sacrifice of those who gave their lives in our wars - and the sacrifices made by their families, friends, and of the greater societies to which they belonged.  When one of our young men and women die in service, a ripple effect alters many lives.

It is that importance of every life and the dearness of the sacrificing of those lives that we should be honoring and remembering today, not the glorification of the wars and war machinery that took those lives away.

April Stumbles into May

A touch of rain... barely; then a foreshadowing blast of high Summer heat borne on the Santa Ana winds, then breezy cooling from the always chilly-'round-here Pacific.

That was how April saw us into May here in Los Angeles.

Or, at least that's how my memory pieces the time together. If I am getting it a little wrong, I should be forgiven. I had other things to think about: family mostly, with all the usual cares that parenthood brings, and work (and there's never been a time I've felt more grateful to be saying that), but also 'World Events'.

'World Events' is quite a bucketful of topics these days, right?  Russia dining on the Ukraine like a colossal mutant housefly dines on a lump of sugar. Syria - merging into the news background while Russia holds the stage, quietly (to us) continuing to destroy itself as the World watches nervously.  Our long-term houseguest Afghanistan keeps vomiting on our carpet but we can't seem to get him out the door, while our ex-roomie Iraq seems bent on erasing the meager few hopeful things we left for him to remember us.

And what would 'World Events' be without another Middle East Peace Snafu as part of the mix?  Just when Mr. Kerry is doing what passes as his best to reboot the reboot of the 'peace process', the Palestinian factions decide to kiss and make up, bringing in a partner Israel just can't get jiggy with.  Where it all goes from here is heartbreakingly predictable, and I'm beginning to think there is no real will on either side to find a solution that doesn't include either the utter annihilation or essential subjugation of one of the sides.  The impasse seems so very deep and wide that not even the ghost of Evel Kneivel on a winged and turbocharged Hayabusa could jump it.

But not even these weighty matters could overshadow the momentous news that Stephen Colbert was going to replace David Letterman on the Late Show.

When that news hit I found out by the flurry of texts I received from my wife.  She is all for it.  Me, I'm a little down since I've come to see the Colbert Report as one of the two non-sports shows I'd continue to watch even if it was broadcast by vampires and cost me a pint of blood per episode.  The change feels like an abandonment to me, and I fear the Late Show format will lobotomize the remnants of the Colbert character we've all come to love and laugh with.

In any case, April is over and we are stumbling through May.  There weren't enough April showers here to bring a real bloom of May flowers, but we can all hope this month will be chill enough to cool the heads of the World's decision makers, and we can make it into June with a little less worry and a touch more optimism.

The Tides of March

March 2014 has been interesting ...

Back in The USSR, Playing Chess - The Ukrainians, at least those living in and around Kiev, decided their future should involve closer ties to the West and not Russia, so they forced out their elected leader who'd chosen to spoon with Russia instead. Looked good for a brief moment for the Ukraine and its people, but like many moves on a chessboard it appeared superb only until the opposition made its move.  'Pro-Russian' (but NOT Russian, they exclaimed) troops, masked and without discernable insignia, and strangely well-organzied for a sudden opportunistic action, quickly surrounded all Ukrainian military bases in the Crimea.  Then also very quickly the Crimean parliament (the region was semi-autonomous, like Scotland only without kilts and the inscrutable accents) arranged a referendum for Crimea to declare itself independent, while at the same time petitioning Russia (aka Vladimir Putin) to take them in. Whew!  That's more action in a short time than the US Congress could ever manage, even with advance planning.  No wonder our government was caught on the back foot by this speed of action. Before we knew it, the game was over, no moves left for us that could win, left to angle for a draw instead of conceding abject defeat.  This tale has one caution to the Crimeans and one moral for us:  be careful what you wish for, because it might come with borscht-induced gastritis; and, never play chess with a Russian, unless you are built of silicon and your name is Deep Blue.

Mystery Over Malaysia - In our modern tracked-from-birth-to-death world, where radar pings every moving thing above 500 feet and satellites can spot a medium sized truck from space, we just don't expect to lose something as big as a Boeing 777.  So how on earth could we possibly lose track of Malaysian airlines flight MH370 and its ill-fated souls?  The mystery of where this giant of a plane went has dragged on for weeks now, reaching the point where some less credible pundits are suggesting alien intervention or some Bermuda-triangle like event.  Evidence suggests the plane was deliberately diverted from its planned course, but why? Nobody who might have a real clue is talking, so its left to the rest of us to wonder and to fervently hope for the innocent people caught up in this nightmare.

Rumble and Choke - Our leaders here in California tell us we are in a drought, but not so bad yet that we need mandatory water rationing.  I don't know, but its been pretty damned dry this 'Winter', and last year was no deluge either, but, hey, we'll take the relaxed attitude for now and watch our lawns wither, and our skies fill up with smoke from the inevitable fires.  And maybe some dust kicked up by the recent March earthquakes (biggest so far of 5.1) rumbling around parts of Orange County.  The cluster of quakes sit on one fault in a web of faults that criss-cross the state, feeding into and out of the Mother Fault, the San Andreas.  When the ground shifts, dust rises into the air. Consumption be done about it? Of cough not! (apologies Woody).

This March we could basically forget about the Ides and focus instead on the whole enchilada.  It's been an interesting lesson in the chessiness of World Politics; a reaffirmation that mysteries can still happen (sadly in the case of Flight MH370), and a reminder that those who live in Paradise will eventually feel the Earth move - and not in a good way.  Happy April, everyone!

Numbers

What's in a number?

Today I heard a couple of numbers that caught my attention:

45% of men will get cancer, and

35% of women will.

Think about that for a moment while you are with your friends and family.  Nearly half of all the men in your circle of friends are statistically likely to face cancer, most likely prostate cancer.  Over a third of all the women you care about are at risk, mainly from breast cancer.

And yet, my impression is that cancer is rising but still affects only a relative few.  That if we don't smoke and abstain from binge drinking our risk is very low.  I'll bet that's your impression too.

But those numbers say our impressions are dead wrong.

I heard another set of numbers on the news as well.  70% of young men and women in Greece are unemployed - whether they have a college degree or not.  The overall jobless rate exceeds 40%.

Take a moment to wrap you head around that.  Now add on top of that unemployment, the austerity budget the Greek government had to adopt to get EU bailout money.

Now stop a moment and figure what the current odds are for a Greek man: about half are likely to be unemployed and doomed to face cancer too.

No wonder the news reports say the Greeks are depressed.

So why am I telling you about these depressing numbers?  Am  I depressed? Am I Greek?  (No and No)

I give these numbers for your consideration, because they mean so much but we pay so little attention to them.  They come at us in the news, fast but not furious, as if meant to draw us in but then allow us to easily forget and move on to lighter fare.

Let's try to remember the important numbers we hear in 2014.  A lot may count on it.

Isolationist Me?

World politics has never been an easy concept for me to grasp.  The interconnectivity that runs behind the confrontational scenes and in parallel reality to the harsh public words is difficult to comprehend, but nonetheless is there.

How the US can have so many economic ties to China and still shake a public stick at them over the squabbles with Japan amazes me.  But I just don't get those multiple facets of business and diplomacy.

So, it shouldn't surprise anyone if I say that I'm tending towards isolationism these days.

Not the old-fashioned kind, though, in which we hide inside our borders and don't engage at all.  More of a revised model, in which we engage culturally and economically but drop the Team American World Police attitude.

I feel this way based on the observation that we don't get things right that often.  We might actually make events worse through our actions than if we didn't do anything at all.

I say it also because I am starting to believe that the main reason there is such opposition to World Trade agreements and the like is not so much the economic aspects but the power-politics involved.  No agreement ever seems to be just about making money and creating jobs, two concepts few people can really complain about.  There always seem to be power and influence additions that sour the deal for many of us.

So, can we actually have an economic and cultural open house, while keeping our noses out of other countries internal affairs?  Can we buy VWs and sell Fords to Germany without bugging Angela Merkel's phone?

I think so.  After all Canada pulls it off, so how hard can it be?  (No offense, Canada)

Now, there will be some situations we can't ignore, like genocides, ethnic cleansing, and Dennis Rodman.  No isolationist worldview is absolute, I'm just asking for a little restraint.

Doodle Hair

It's a clear and beautiful mid-Saturday here in Los Angeles.  Our air is fresh after last week's welcome rain, and our collective Angeleno Spirits are up.

So why have I been sitting and staring at the furry conundrum that is our Dog, instead of running about outside in that freshy air?

Well, he's a Doodle, which to other owners of such stock is 'nuff said, but to the blissfully ignorant requires a bit of explanation:

Doodles do not shed.  They don't have 'fur', but instead have 'hair', which much like our own continues growing and growing until someone cuts it.  (I stop here to look longingly at our other dog, a short-haired traditional-style dachshund, who NEVER needs grooming).

For owners expert in grooming by interest - or who have become so by necessity, this is no biggie.  (Get out the Shears, Ma!).  But to the rest of us who are first-time Doodlers, we find ourselves owners of a canine Gordian Knot, with our only option paying our local grooming Alexanders to wield their mighty swords.

This is not an easy choice for those on a budget, or who like long-hair on dogs.  These Doodles have lots of hair and it is expensive to cut; well, at least it is if you are so reluctant to cut the stuff that you unintentionally leave it so long your Dog resembles a giant rasta-hairdooed lint ball rather than something four-legged.  Once in such a state, the groomers roll their eyes and give just one choice - total annil-hair-ation.

Once groomed, the formerly glorious hound looks like a badly-sheared sheep.  (Hey, I wonder if taking your Doodle to a sheep-shearing is cheaper?)

So, I am sitting here, mentally exploring alternatives to a buzz-cut.  And, of course, I begin to see metaphors to other parts of (my) life.

The most immediate being meetings.  Too many meetings, of the corporate type involving many invitees and frequent recurrences planned in advance for months on end.  And the endless reams of communications and declarations and agendas and minutes that come from all of them.

Show me the inbox of a typical mid-level corporate wonk and I'll show you meetings and their swirl.  You'd be hard-pressed to find the 'skin of the dog'.

Maybe if I can suss out the best approach to our Doodle, I may be able to apply the lessons to my corporate life.  Barring any business Alexanders wielding efficiency swords who may pop up, I could be my company's only hope.

But only if I can get a handle on this Doodle.

Android Dreams

Analisa threw a look over her shoulder at James as she slipped out the door.  In the movement he caught the glisten of not-yet-dried tears on her cheek.  He gave a half-wave and a painful smile.

"See you tomorrow.  Things'll look better then."

From the front step Analisa groaned in response, "Yeah, Right".  And away she went.

James looked down at the newspage glowing on his iPad.  He ran his finger across the headline they had both just read, sitting close together in the way people in shared distress do,

'Wozniac Says to Apple, Build An Android Phone'

With a choked sob, he slapped the smartcover shut, blotting out the hateful text.

"She's right, nothing will ever look as good again.  The Woz has betrayed his Oz"