What Time Is It?
I just found out that it's almost time to reset our clocks. Why do we do that? It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I had to set it the other way. As it turned out, I actually had a reason to wake up on time for a change. I was going to go for a hike with a friend and we agreed to meet fairly early, so I had to set my alarm. That's not an easy thing to do anymore. One time I decided that I wanted a clock radio, and at the time I was wealthy and could buy things like that without a second thought. So I strolled over to Target on my lunch hour and picked one out...sort of a retro design but all digital. It does everything it's supposed to do, but of course to set the alarm you press a button and watch the numbers change and hope for the best. It always confuses me and I never trust that I've done it right. So that Saturday night I had the combined task of trying to prepare for the time change PLUS get up on time. That was simply too many directions for my brain to follow. So I dug out my old reliable... actually owned by my Dad. I broke the stand so it's kind of lopsided, but it has a dial and you can twirl the thingies in the back and see what's going on. It's still there on top of my TV, and next to it is the fancy clock radio, which has a clock face as well, the hands stuck on about 6:53 and I don't know why and I don't care. I just leave it alone. I know... I'm a doofus.

And In Other News
Immigration Reform or whatever it's called... where did THAT come from? Oh, I know -- it's something to fuss about. That's nice. Some people get mad at the folks who sneak into the country and all of that. They even want to shoot at them and everything. I don't. People who live at that strata of society are usually pretty cool to deal with.

I get mad at those at the top of the heap. I guess there are people that can say, "All right, it's time to stir up another issue. How about immigration?" Then everyone falls in line. The blitz seemed a little anemic this time to me. The news correspondents barely able to stifle their yawns on this one.

In other news: This morning they put on Mary Matalin to explain how cool it will be when rich white guy #5 replaces rich white guy #8 or something like that. I started channel surfing because I don't usually listen to the obvious propagandists. She was on almost every channel at exactly the same time! I couldn't escape. I guess we really do have state-run media now. How boring.

Coyote Makes News!
I'm glad to see the wildlife coming out in support of my blog. Thanks Hal!

So what's the deal with me and coyotes? I don't know...I tried to discover my Power Animal once and was suddenly struck that beyond all doubt it is Coyote. I even look like one of the critters, so I've been told. The sacred, self-sabotaging trickster. It's a mixed-medicine bag.

Here's a book from my library, that tells pretty much all there is to know about these animals. My favorite aspect is that little series of coyotes drawn on the front, and you can see that it is positioned so that the spine features the coyote's butt. I suspect, and even hope, that it happened quite by accident. If so, it is a perfect example of coyote medicine.

Hal in New York was a good example too. Over a bridge and a fence and past a skating rink and into the water... now that's resourceful!

Questions, I Got Questions
I had not planned to do any more of this... there are plenty of voices out there and who needs mine? Unfortunately I get mentally stuck sometimes and this blog is to clear the junk etc. Also, I think a lot of people are coming to similar conclusions so I can shut up. I'm talking about the current PR Campaign for the War in Iraq of course (hey, they brought it up).

First of all, about the moment in the press conference that we get to see again and again. Helen Thomas asks a question, which I only saw in its entirety once. Basically all of the reasons given for the war turned out to be suspect at best, so what was the real reason? Mr. Bush's answer, as near as I can tell, was that he didn't want to go to war (no President does), so take that you old bat. So to boil it down:
Q. Why did we REALLY go to war?
A. Because I didn't want to.
Why should I question policies like that?

Then there is the deep divide about the media bias, and there can be no agreement. I think the mainstream already acts as cheerleaders for this administration. Others think otherwise. Clearly though, if all reports should paint a rosy picture and ignore any bombings or so on, doesn't that look a lot like those regimes where one guy is in power and there's pictures of him everywhere and he can do no wrong etc.? I can't think of any such regimes... wait a minute, wasn't there a guy like that in some place called Iraq or something?

Finally, my last point. I don't like war for some reason. Maybe it's a past-life thing. I admire the soldiers and I'm sure there are lots and lots of fine Americans doing great things in Iraq. I think that everything will eventually work out in one way or another, thanks to the efforts of everyone who has to put up with all that goes on over there. So what are the reasons for doing this, instead of say marching into one of those African nations where the children are barely alive and don't have the strength to brush the flies away from their eyes? We're not supposed to do that because (fill in the blank). We are allowed to try to take over the middle of the Middle East though. After all, isn't that what we've always been preparing for? Don't we remember that we could raise sons and daughters who could someday liberate the people of Iraq (where?). Why do some parents get so upset when their child is taken? America has always been about making sure the people of Iraq have freedom at all costs. Or maybe I'm confused. Like I say, I got questions.

Behold The Lowly Chicken!
Wow, now it's Bird Flu. The fitting sequel to Mad Cow Disease of course. It's also the latest dire threat from our environment, which always seems to be looking for creative ways to do us in. It might be a fitting revenge for the chickens, what would we do without them? I eat pieces of them all the time. It's so convenient. There's an entire box full in my freezer (Banquet Crispy Chicken Variety Pack), and with a minimum of effort I can throw some segment of their anatomy into my microwave oven and soon be smearing my greasy hands everywhere as I consume. A virtual piece of paradise. Moreover, there is a lone chicken breast in a more pure (albeit frozen) state encased in a baggie also. I can thaw it out and cook it up with some brown rice and feel as though I am doing well for myself.

So we are met with another possible catastrophe as we attempt to pilot this fertile little planet into the future. There is always one just around the bend, isn't there? I bet there is a book entitled something like "The Coming Economic Collapse" for every decade that's behind us. I don't think a really bad one has happened since the Great Depression, although I do wonder about the effects of this deficit. I always heard that's a bad thing, but the sky's the limit apparently.

I've been waiting to live in some post-apocalyptic world for almost my whole life... something like those folks had to go through with Katrina, wandering around on pieces of broken highway and so on. I have also pondered what it would be like to catch one of those super-viruses. They can really tear you up. It's best not to think about it too much I reckon. Probably Alfred E. Neuman's question is appropriate once again. "What -- me worry?"

Mighty Morphin' Machine!
This is just for pure silliness. There is no correlation between Alfred E. Neuman and Donald Trump in my mind. I have been quoted (quite correctly) as saying that the world revolves around rich lunatics. [This happened in my improbable inclusion in Nasario Garcia's great book celebrating Albuquerque's 300th Anniversary, in reference to Howard Hughs and Michael Jackson] Donald Trump would like for the world to revolve around him, but in order for that to happen he would have to get much kookier. He's rich enough, but not quite far enough off of his nut. It could work for him, but I would kind of hate to see that. It has to be genuinely inexplicable nutjob behavior to put you in the center of the vortex. I bet he falls into the normal rich lunatic category, which means that a large portion of lots of peoples' worlds, and a few peoples' entire beings, revolve around him. I've worked for guys like that; they know how to get things done and don't care what people think and all of that. I've never seen his TV show, it looks sort of stressful and full of the kind of people that like to order me around.

Quadrangle
I thought that at this auspicious occasion, that of the Academy Awards Ceremony, it was time for me to introduce Quadrangle to anyone who doesn't know him. He says he is the Cosmic Court Jester, and no one seems to dispute this. He makes various other extravagant claims such as being a magician, an extraterrestrial observer, and even a time traveler. We'll present some of his evidence by and by. He's responsible for some musical numbers, including Fools' Parade and Puppet Show, as well as various rhyming works, and he has even inspired a screenplay. Whatever he may or may not be, it may safely be said that he is a smart ass. So, in honor of this evening's festivities, I give you the following:

Ye Gods of Mount Olympus

by Quadrangle

Ye gods of Mount Olympus,

we hail thee for thy birth,

for as our entertainment

ye have been born on earth.

In glaring spotlights shining bright

and lenses focused clear,

with microscopic clarity

we long to draw thee near.

Was it for kharmic greatness

that ye were put in charge,

and given all thy luxuries -

allowed to live so large?

While lesser men and women do

upon thy visage gaze,

in tabloid splendor held aloft

on grocery shopping days.

Ye gods of Mount Olympus,

thy words we long to hear.

Thy wisdom to be amplified

and poured into our ear.

Opinions highly valued

and prized above our own,

from interview to interview

we wait upon thy throne.

For in genetic fortune

thy greatness was received,

and is displayed to the mongrel horde

as a better breed.

And thy suffering on our behalf

we do so highly prize.

With but catered fare for nourishment

thy scripts are memorized.

Ye gods of Mount Olympus,

thy flags we gladly raise.

For golden statues to compete

on annual judgement days.

For cleavage and tuxedos marched

before a weary throng

we celebrate thy victories

in our gladsome song.

We will reward thee handsomely

for what we cannot be;

thy talent and thy luck on earth

and great Variety.

But best we love the downward slide

and something new to seek,

gazing upward to thy slippery grasp

upon thy mountain peak.

RWR
I got to see good old Ronald Reagan this week. On Sunday he had two hours on PBS covering the early years. I was mildly interested in seeing the second half, especially the Iran Contra thing. On Monday evening I suffered through Antiques Roadshow and to my surprise it started up afterward. To be honest by the end of it I had had more than enough of Reagan. Sort of the same feeling I had by the time his two terms were over. No, I didn't get upset about any of it. I have noticed that such programs do tend to go out of their way to make Jimmy Carter look like a failure. He had sort of a different way of doing things and I thought he was a sensible sort, but he couldn't compete with Reagan. Apparently we prefer the rampant militarism at all costs, which has become fashionable again. It's just the way people do things -- everyone has to fight about stuff. So be it.

I've heard it postulated that the Cro-Magnons were thoughtful peacenicks that got wiped out by the more aggressive Homo Sapiens. I'm not an anthropologist, but I find that easy to believe. I further imagine that some of that DNA made it all the way to me, and that explains some of the reasons I feel displaced in the way that I do.

Speaking of ancient history, back in the Eighties we had something called "yuppies", remember them? They had lots of money (or pretended to) and drove cars called "Beemers" and got expensive haircuts. I had to work with a bunch of them. I was about the same age but was from a different planet altogether. As far as Reagan goes though, one thing that was quite striking in retrospect was the dynamic between him and the press. I think that the reporters nowadays have to tip-toe around like they might break something and make sure they don't piss anyone off. Ol' Reagan had to put up with them shouting tough questions all the time -- even when he was farting around with the Thanksgiving turkey! You don't see that anymore.