Sudden Attack of Nostalgia

Watching a recent Colbert, a guest recalled a past role where he played an elf named 'Swifty'. For the majority of the viewing audience that didn't rate a second thought.

For me it opened the floodgates of memory.

'Swifty' made me think ... Damon Runyan, and that made me think ... The Lemon Drop Kid, and that made me think of Bob Hope, and then memories of all of the movies he made that I like (and even a few I didn't) came pouring out of my brain's equivalent of a dusty, cluttered closet.

And with those memories came an overwhelming wave of bittersweet nostalgia.

It's the kind of experience we older folks can have that younger types just can't generate.  They haven't lived long enough.  This is one of the few nice things about getting older.

But as I mentioned, these thoughts are bitter as well as sweet, because the things we remember are gone - often long gone, and their like will never return.

The feeling that ensues is sometimes an odd, off-kilter one.  It can make me feel dizzy and disconnected with the present.  But only for a moment.

The wave of triggered nostalgia fades and the present resumes its rightful prominence.  For a moment, though, you are suddenly young again within your old self, seeing the world again with youthful emotions.

For all of you in the same temporal boat, enjoy riding the waves of nostalgia.

Rip Van Wayne-kle

Whoa!

It's already April ... 2017 ...

And not a single post on this page to keep the bots alert.

You can chalk that up to ennui. Or laziness. Both are at least partially true.

Also, distractions of my full-time paying job can get part of the blame too.  That's been there for quite a few years of this blog's history, though.

No, the really real and definitely not fake reason I haven't been posting here is that others have been posting their hearts out on the very same subjects that interest me.  And most of them have been doing it better than I could.

So, I've let them 'speak' for me.

They seem to have the better ability to cut through the shock-induced fog and see the world clearly enough without fear and loathing biasing their POVs.  Not so me.

But I hope this will pass soon.

I began this blog on the run-up to Barack Obama's historic first election.  Naturally, that was the main focus for quite some time.  Over the ensuing years I branched out to indulge my fancy in musings on life, human nature, science, and even some poetry of a sort.

It was meant to be though-provoking to anyone who stopped by to read it, but I really tried to keep it light and inject whatever humor my talent would allow.  I hope I did so with some success, although it was hard when each blog post was done on the spur of the moment and sent out into the world without much review, reflection, and possibly badly-needed editing.

I kept it up for a few years but the pace slowed, eventually to a crawl, and then to this latest somnambulation.

To the maybe one or three people who routinely viewed this blog back in its heyday, I must apologize for letting things fall away.  I promise to try to pick back up someway, somehow.

But it will be difficult. Looking around for ideas these days I have been struggling to find anything to say that can be said with humor.  Colbert, Trevor Noah, SNL, and Samantha Bee do this well and make me laugh enough to hold back the tears, but I can't yet find the spirit to follow their lead. Not even in my micro-blogger way.

So, I am making a promise to visit with you here at least once or twice a month for the rest of this year.  I won't promise that much of it will be humorous, although I do hope it will continue to be thought-provoking.  You can think of it as free group-therapy, if that helps.

See you (or at least the bots) back here soon ...

From Russia, with Love?

In the news lately we've been hearing that Russian hacking intentionally targeted Hillary Clinton and the DNC, with the intent of putting Trump in the Presidency.

Well, if so, I surely hope Russia is happy, because it worked.

I have to say, I'm impressed.  I've been to Russia and, although I loved the people and had a great time, I'd give the infrastructure a C at best.  Lots of potholes and grand old buildings with painted over cracks.  That a country struggling to keep up appearances was able to find the time, talent, and resources to hack-attack is amazing, but perhaps also an indication of warped priorities.

I must say I'm also sad. Russia is a magnificent country peopled by big-hearted folks with steely resolve. They make for excellent allies but can be relentless enemies.  I'd much prefer the former, and so would most Russians, if you asked.  So this alleged hacking is depressing because it widens the divide between our peoples rather than bridging it.

Now, I'd like to speak directly to any Russian's reading this (highly unlikely, but hey, maybe):

My Russian Friends, I know you like or at least admire us.  This in despite the fact we've saddled you with our fast-food culture and cheesiest of chain restaurants. You should know that most of us like you too.  We admire how the Kremlin looks, and envy the vast open spaces that are even vaster and more open than our vast open spaces.  We kind of like the idea of 'Siberia' too - its become an integral part of our cultural idiom.  And lets not forget you have had two very impressive meteor hits since 1900 to our zero (noticeable) hits.  Very scary-cool.

So my Friends, I am told that you really, really hated Hillary and worked very, very hard to help Trump be our next President.  I am sure you had what you thought were good reasons for doing this, but I'm here to give you a solemn warning.  Watch Out For The Donald.  One minute he'll be telling you what a terrific, terrific people you are the next he'll be tweeting something nasty about you at 3am.  Remember that you've just helped him assume the single most powerful position in the World, and please don't make the mistake in believing our democratic institutions will limit his actions.  You will soon be learning as many Americans are doing just now, that these institutions are largely 'gentleman's agreements' and aren't really enforceable. Even a little.

Your Friend Donald may turn on you when the moment suits him.  I hope you have an answer if that happens.  Maybe if you still have those hacks into the RNC and the Trump campaign we've heard rumor of and that you haven't released, you could use those as leverage to get Trump doing what you want. Maybe.

In any case Russia, if you intention really was to have Trump to deal with rather than Clinton, you got what you wanted.  And now that you have I'd ask you show us Americans a little pity, and yes, maybe even a little love.

Спасибо (Spasibo)!

Mars Time

Reflecting on both a recent National Geographic article on Mars Exploration, and the Ron Howard docudrama series, 'Mars' ...

Mars, so what's the attraction?

It's nothing like Bradbury's 'Martian Chronicles'
It's nothing like 'Jon Carter' (and let's be thankful for that)

The place is a dump, astronomically-speaking, or at least a run down ghost town, so what's makes this little planet so appealing that otherwise reasonable people would be willing to risk their lives to go there?

Seriously - go look at parts of New Mexico.  That's a lot like Mars, except you can breath, won't usually freeze to death, and won't be mutated by radiation (well, if you avoid the old nuclear testing bits).

But exploring New Mexico is not as exciting (no offense New Mexico, I love you).

Exploring Mars IS exciting, and I think mainly because you can't breath, will likely freeze to death and be blasted by cosmic rays (but you won't get cool superpowers out of it).

So, there will be plenty of thrill-seeking types looking for the kind of excitement that Mother Earth just doesn't pack anymore, and willing to go to Mars.  But what about the scientists and engineers who will need to spend their life's work focusing on the place and how to get there (and maybe back)?  What's in it for them?

Well, let's face it, as local space destinations go, Mars is the most appealing.  It's bigger  and farther away than the Moon and therefore automatically cooler. It also comes with a kind of atmosphere.  A thin and deadly one, yes, but an atmosphere.  And let's not forget there is always the possibility of finding recognizable life buried there somewhere.  So though the place may look like New Mexico, it's definitely cooler to planetary scientists and exobiologists.

But what does all this mean to average you and me?  All but a very few of us living today will never set foot on Mars - or work directly to get people there.  The rest of us will be cheering the lucky ones on and paying for it.

Ah yes, paying for it. Will we see any benefit from all this activity which will ultimately cost trillions?

Er ... no, not right away, anyway. There may be some cool inventions that spin off from this effort that improve (or complicate, you know tech) our lives, but nothing big and nothing soon.

But, hey, the history of humanity - or at least the history of that part of humanity that has always embraced reason, science, and technology, claims a clear path forward.  We have to go somewhere or we will go nowhere, and Mars seems like the best alternative right now to stagnation.

So, here's the bottom line:  Don't support going to Mars because we will see benefits in our lifetimes.  Support it because this country (and the World) needs to believe in something bigger than itself.  Something that transcends all the usual human desires, resentments, and resulting strife.

Mars, it's time to go!

Idiocracy or Madness?

... have we become idiots or just gone entirely mad?

The faithful few readers of this blog may remember this post from 2011: http://waynetpov.blogspot.com/2011/11/idiots-united.html, in which I reference the movie 'Idiocracy'.  The fear of my long-ago post was also that contained in the very recent LA Times story on the subject, which is that social media has amplified stupidity to an alarming level and given voice to cretins who would otherwise be powerless and ignored.

But I am beginning to think this is looking at the situation incorrectly.  I am starting to believe that some form of mass psychosis, maybe even madness, is sweeping the land.  I say this because I know many people who are most definitely not idiots who nevertheless voted for Mr. Donald Trump (all hail his excellency!)

What makes an intelligent person vote for not only the least qualified candidate ever to run for our top office, but also the most openly morally bankrupt in a generation?  How can they cast their ballots for someone who has KKK backing, support from Russia, and who proposes to install Sarah Palin in a government office (Secretary of the Interior), give high power to both Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich, and who thinks it would be wise to deport 11 million immigrants (and ignore the inhumane effects).  Let's not also forget they would have to ignore his disgusting attitude towards women and his advocacy for torture as a 'useful' tool.

But somehow these intelligent people either ignored all those awful aspects of Trump, or dismissed them as something our system wouldn't permit him to actually do, or (gulp) embraced those horrid ideologies themselves.  Somehow, someway, these intelligent people made the most illogical, damaging choice they have ever made.  These smart people added their voices to those of the truly idiotic crazy-core of Trump supporters and gave him the reigns of the most powerful office and the most powerful military in the World.

I believe something akin to temporary (I hope) insanity gripped these intelligent people, leading them to a form of blindness to the truth. I hope they will snap out of it as the reality of what they've done begins to take shape.  I hope when this happens they will use their intelligence to resist the worst impulses of the person they've put in office, to the best of their abilities.  I hope they will join with the slightly more than half of the Nation that did not vote for Trump and will fight to keep our personal freedoms (and not just our right to carry guns into a Del Taco). 

Most of all I hope this return to sanity happens very soon, so we can all work together to ensure that Obamacare isn't repealed until a workable replacement is enacted. That we can figure out a humane compromise on immigration, and that women won't be left with no options but to seek back-alley abortions.

Crunch Time

or, after all the spewed vitriol, it's time to vote (or shut up)

I can't remember when I've wanted a day to come and pass as much as I want Nov 8 to get here and then get gone. After all, the longer this mess lasts the more friends I am likely to lose - or at least majorly alienate.

It's not that I try to irritate people, it's just that I can't effectively hide my shock that sentient beings I call friends (and relatives) would actually vote for a candidate with exactly zero bonafides that befit him for the office of President.  I mean, forgetting his 'ideas' (which are abysmal) what is there that recommends him over, say, a department store mannequin?  That dummy has the advantage over the other dummy in that it can't talk (and send terror through our allies while doing so).

I can't bear to list the Republican candidate's bad plans or the times where he or his minions have fanned the flames of hated and promoted the idea of violence against his opponent.  To list them is to relive them in painful clarity.

No, all I'll do here is to urge everyone to get up off their chairs and vote this Tuesday.  Don't let anything short of medical emergencies or major natural disasters (like that Great Meteor some are praying for) deter you from exercising your constitutional right (and DUTY) to cast your ballot.  This holds true even if you are deeply conflicted about the choice for President and intend to write in Mickey Mouse or Tom Hanks.  There are lots of other offices and initiatives that need your attention - at least go for those.

OK, that's It!  Off you go - review your choices, mark your sample ballot, and plan to be at the polls in time to get 'er done on Tuesday.  Good Luck to Us All ...

Lemmings 2016

Or what lessons might we learn from a small Scandinavian rodent ...

A popular (though somewhat scary) image from my childhood school learnings was that of thousands of small rodents called Lemmings pouring over a cliff to their deaths, each blindly following the Lemmings in front of them, who were in turn following the ones in front of them until we get to the first jumper(s) and have to wonder what the heck they were thinking and did they know the impact of their verticalistic impulses on their fellow Lemmings.

Never mind that the suicidal aspect of the Great Lemming Jumps has been discredited, it is still an apt metaphor for some (or a lot) of the political insanity that's been playing out in the news and social media.

If there a better way to explain the steadfast support that many are showing for a certain republican candidate for President, no matter how many warnings they receive that he may be about to lead them off a cliff?  It seems these supporters are following the lead of those further up towards the front, in the form of some conservative 'news' pundits or faded political stars trying to stave off the end of their careers, who all seem to be clinging to a desperate belief their candidate can somehow jump off the cliff but fly, not fall, and they (if not the rest of the Lemmings behind) will grow wings and fly with him.

If that is what the pack-in-back thinks, gravity of a political sort may soon give them a painfully demoralizing lesson.

Let's imagine a reality in which the Lemmings and their human political analogs watched their Leader(s) teetering on the brink, noted the height of the fall and the distinct lack of wings, and turned and walked away, muttering something about idiots.