tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21972820050941800322024-03-07T12:49:17.669-05:00Give 'n GoRandom Musings on Authentic HappinessJoseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-12849428922229624492013-05-18T17:30:00.000-05:002013-05-18T17:30:55.933-05:00Goin' SoloThe effects of Superstorm Sandy are still evident in seaside towns throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Since news stories of continuing struggles--like hundreds of families still living in temporary housing--have long since disappeared from the headlines, most people not directly affected have no clue that there are still serious problems. <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYc4AVJ25srRjMGlN1XTHf6mKyyt4w6HkcwcbSGU9ibymFfq3fjdAMEaDH4QfZj9gu0vY-YXuJE9VtYSyWlLMBG2vKBH-K6tCxPIv8CAy56IO2U_vS6X0fLVnmRu9gaqKxrGqeNYJ8IQvC/s1600/IMG_1031.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYc4AVJ25srRjMGlN1XTHf6mKyyt4w6HkcwcbSGU9ibymFfq3fjdAMEaDH4QfZj9gu0vY-YXuJE9VtYSyWlLMBG2vKBH-K6tCxPIv8CAy56IO2U_vS6X0fLVnmRu9gaqKxrGqeNYJ8IQvC/s320/IMG_1031.JPG" /></a></div>
A quick drive through south shore towns on Long Island will reveal hundreds of homes that remain uninhabitable and many more where people are living in what amounts to permanent construction zones.
<p>
We're lucky. After about a month without heat and hot water and nearly three weeks without electricity, we were able to get back to a semblance of normalcy. Duct tape and a few rolls of plastic sheeting keep most of the construction dust out of our living area, but we've become accustomed to the fact that a thin layer of crud will be a semi-permanent feature for the foreseeable future.<p>
Now that demolition is finished and the debris has been carted away, the rebuilding begins. My challenge is to complete the project myself--solo. Except for a few tasks which I am prohibited from tackling myself, like tying into the main soil stack, my intention is to go it alone.<p>
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Plumbing is nearly complete. With the ceiling and walls open, I'll be adding an upstairs master bath, a ground floor kitchen and two additional heating zones. Hot and cold supply lines are installed and DWV lines are in place, ready to be tied into the main stack by a licensed plumber. <p>
Thank Heaven for PEX and PVC.<p>
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More than 40 years ago Mr. McGuire took recent graduate Benjamin Braddock out to a quiet spot to offer one important word of advice:<b> "PLASTICS!"</b><p>
How true.<p>
In addition to modern plastics, other miracle advances like the JobMax multitool and the drywall lift make Goin' Solo much less daunting.<p>
So stay tuned and wish me luck. I'm gonna need it. <p>
Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-68976992869710961042012-07-04T05:59:00.002-05:002012-07-04T05:59:48.029-05:00Seek Professional HelpMy previous blog post described my first swing analysis at GolfTec during the 2009 U.S. Open. It was extremely helpful. After that first one-swing video lesson, I received a promotional, in-person swing analysis with a GolfTec instructor in Lake Grove. She broke down every element of my swing and corrected my atrocious posture, alignment and swing plane. <p>
A few months later I took advantage of another promotion at GolfTec in White Plains. On that day, the instructor was able to help me refine my set-up and improve my takeaway and swing plane. Following these two sessions my game continued to improve, but I was still plagued with inconsistency.<p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA82DepnIZtAeyERrwkjIUFEV8b-SBjpC0YsW8Sr8jxWKZLwIG8mt2yGdwgQFH9-u_9OFuEH9PZ6hZa9r8jesRtM2GM_HsVO4dngufJrQAEyZyaE_8qZ9bdJtl6q4ypTuYRfaiRfKFBzwt/s1600/Walter+Ostroske.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="160" width="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA82DepnIZtAeyERrwkjIUFEV8b-SBjpC0YsW8Sr8jxWKZLwIG8mt2yGdwgQFH9-u_9OFuEH9PZ6hZa9r8jesRtM2GM_HsVO4dngufJrQAEyZyaE_8qZ9bdJtl6q4ypTuYRfaiRfKFBzwt/s400/Walter+Ostroske.jpg" /></a></div>
That's when a Groupon offer found its way into my inbox. Two 45 minute lessons with highly respected golf coach Walter Ostroske for just $45.<p>
It was an offer I couldn't refuse.<p>
I immediately clicked accept and print, then called Mr. Ostroske to schedule my first lesson. By the time I took four swings with my 6 iron, Walter had identified my problem.<p>
"Your set up is perfect. Good posture, although you could use a bit more knee flex. Nice take-away. Good swing plane." <p>
Walter was very positive and encouraging, so why was every third ball squirting out to the right?<p>
He placed the butt end of my driver four inches outside of my left temple and told me to take another swing.<p>
Before my clubhead made contact with the ball... BAM! My skull whacked the grip.<p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5OL0fXcCDVzL2GK9ccmEtDWwP7Xz_Enhs80G57tkEM9qbzzB8G3-8UxMVlkuElLVl0VVvrhwPNKipRb2h08tk7EHgKB22UZi_LuXeviMgQKRmCsfH9HsCgRPVQXvnprvf_EdvPLkTCh-q/s1600/Walt+Teaching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="194" width="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5OL0fXcCDVzL2GK9ccmEtDWwP7Xz_Enhs80G57tkEM9qbzzB8G3-8UxMVlkuElLVl0VVvrhwPNKipRb2h08tk7EHgKB22UZi_LuXeviMgQKRmCsfH9HsCgRPVQXvnprvf_EdvPLkTCh-q/s320/Walt+Teaching.jpg" /></a></div>"You're swaying forward during your downswing," said Walter.<p>
We spent the remaining forty mnutes hitting balls, trying some drills and analyzing how the swing felt.<p>
By the end of the lesson I was fairly confident that I could feel where my body position should be at impact. Walter then told me to practice the drills he recommended and come back after a week or so.<p>
Two weeks later, after a few practice sessions and a nine-hole round at Eisenhower, I returned for my second lesson. My swing had improved. My impact position was better, but my follow through was still ugly. Walter showed me how my right side was outracing the rest of my body which caused my arms to collapse at impact.<p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9eqwmGSWbqjrbIkas6pIAWneNalvQVzNqAiAyIUul3RnDHxemezzJe8MC3BpK-nCxsuvJxp6bwR47ta2yT-Tvu6cF0nH-eyflrkG4FdXttYATcCGiDLFzGoBE8knPD7EE_zuuh-QkRRh/s1600/Chicken+Wing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="275" width="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9eqwmGSWbqjrbIkas6pIAWneNalvQVzNqAiAyIUul3RnDHxemezzJe8MC3BpK-nCxsuvJxp6bwR47ta2yT-Tvu6cF0nH-eyflrkG4FdXttYATcCGiDLFzGoBE8knPD7EE_zuuh-QkRRh/s320/Chicken+Wing.jpg" /></a></div>The result was that horrendous "Chicken Wing" finish we all see at our local municipal course.<p>
More swings. More advice. And a terrific two-club drill that helps keep the body in sync from takeaway to follow through.<p>
My shots became more consistent and more powerful. As a result, I can now feel where the clubhead should be at every stage of the swing.<p>
I thanked Walter and told him I would continue my practice routine and call in a few weeks to schedule another lesson.<p>
Now let's see if there's any effect on my scorecard.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-88675910286132484462012-07-02T12:20:00.000-05:002012-07-03T06:46:11.676-05:00The InlierIn Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell contends that the most important common factor among great achievers is the 10,000 hour rule. Deliberate practice, conducted over long periods with professional feedback is more important than inborn talent.<p>
Great news for all of us inliers—average folks with average talents—right?<p>
Not so fast.<p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWU01AKcFmNJn_UCdjADw_MI7_YmQuFv0vWdYnp43O4FR6lzEbbStwJWJc3wRodIvvKarpV11SQIBTfkFAuQm2oHGtX2Adq_7bXZzXXyoyZ0fAPG0USzh_rR25i1oseK98cTQ80fm90f4/s1600/Dan.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWU01AKcFmNJn_UCdjADw_MI7_YmQuFv0vWdYnp43O4FR6lzEbbStwJWJc3wRodIvvKarpV11SQIBTfkFAuQm2oHGtX2Adq_7bXZzXXyoyZ0fAPG0USzh_rR25i1oseK98cTQ80fm90f4/s320/Dan.png" /></a></div>Dan McLaughlin, a 32 year old former photographer, decided to test the theory using golf as the experiment.<p>
To make a very long story short, Dan quit his job and committed to putting in 10,000 hours of deliberate practice with professional coaching and feedback. His goal: To qualify for the PGA Tour in six years.<p>
Dan is 3,000 hours into his quest and has his handicap down to 6. Pretty cool.<p>
But who has the resources to walk away from job and family responsibilities for six years and spend six hours a day six days a week pounding golf balls? Not I.<p>
So being a man of modest desires, I offer a modest proposal. Over the next four months I will put in 100 hours of deliberate practice, with a small amount of professional coaching and feedback—I can’t afford a full-time professional coach—and break 80 from the white tees on a reasonably challenging course.<p>
First, a little history. I began playing golf in my mid-forties and fell in love with the game immediately. My first efforts were pretty dismal, although not untypical.<p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnaMvABGdMSwMc03ZTwOSXMKvh9fsQA0wSRIwgilWq9AlPaCXmUWMLsXxCxnG3-fA4Qp2LOQ0E21XtFbD-9lybiCRN0syVIX4a52yMhTCE7VhdlmvmAl7lOldgghj1y386LPc8Km9KPhO/s1600/Turnberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="210" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnaMvABGdMSwMc03ZTwOSXMKvh9fsQA0wSRIwgilWq9AlPaCXmUWMLsXxCxnG3-fA4Qp2LOQ0E21XtFbD-9lybiCRN0syVIX4a52yMhTCE7VhdlmvmAl7lOldgghj1y386LPc8Km9KPhO/s320/Turnberry.jpg" /></a></div>I shot 114 on my first attempt at a real golf course, Turnberry Isle in Avventura, Florida.<p>
However, I broke 100 only a few weeks later and was consistently shooting in the high 80s and low 90s within three months.<p>
I’m reasonably fit and fairly athletic so I was able to model my swing after the professional golfers that most resembled me in height, weight and build.<p>
After a moderate amount of practice my swing became the envy of all my playing partners and I routinely outdrove friends 10-to-15 years my junior. My scores, however, still hovered around 90.<p>
In a do-it-yourself attempt to improve, I started tinkering and compensating. By 2007 my swing had degenerated into an ugly, un-athletic atrocity. Worse, I started hitting fat shots, skinny shots, shanks and even, on occasion, total whiffs. I came very close to giving up the game.<p>
It was painful.<p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SfR1TDBYy9xgL6ryg19pPjZAYk9tWKygrhKLJeLQe3va1GnyEvgSiQumimk83u76p-aWol4u5gw5SWLsQryKgnPPuJbDPAQUVf_ZlO8q7yeeTwCxoJzGhz3O0a-QbpjtxrN_rLFBJas8/s1600/GolfTec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="174" width="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SfR1TDBYy9xgL6ryg19pPjZAYk9tWKygrhKLJeLQe3va1GnyEvgSiQumimk83u76p-aWol4u5gw5SWLsQryKgnPPuJbDPAQUVf_ZlO8q7yeeTwCxoJzGhz3O0a-QbpjtxrN_rLFBJas8/s320/GolfTec.jpg" /></a></div>Then, during the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage I stepped into the American Express exhibit where GolfTec had set up a swing analyzer. I got strapped into their electronic harness and took my best 5-iron swing.<p>
A few weeks later I got my results along with some tips on how to improve posture, alignment, take-away and follow through.<p>
With a little practice my game came back to its familar mediocre state.<p>
Then, I stumbled upon the Dan Plan which has inspired The Joe Plan which is designed to help players fulfill the modest desire to improve their game and get more enjoyment out of every round.<p>
Today is my first day. I’ll start my practice routine, which I’ll describe in subsequent posts, and play nine holes later this afternoon to get a baseline score. I have never kept a USGA handicap index, but my intuition tells me it’s between 18 and 22.<p>
Wish me luck.<p>
Next installment: Professional feedback.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-12401364271563268222012-06-23T10:02:00.002-05:002012-06-23T10:11:23.960-05:00Joe Girardi Cites Global Warming in Yankee Loss<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOU-7Aor4yHLVkFV8g377E0JrIRESegOr_sXoLftv6nTYHGYTzZmf0cVUEwCAhszIkxwXvgUOG-LCOotbSKbO8G1jWq7r_OEK7PJFZT7-6pFaxWkTSgN2mINGzSAJOU5CfqvJ3zirD3ZZb/s1600/Giradi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="266" width="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOU-7Aor4yHLVkFV8g377E0JrIRESegOr_sXoLftv6nTYHGYTzZmf0cVUEwCAhszIkxwXvgUOG-LCOotbSKbO8G1jWq7r_OEK7PJFZT7-6pFaxWkTSgN2mINGzSAJOU5CfqvJ3zirD3ZZb/s320/Giradi.jpg" /></a>During his post-game press conference, Joe Girardi blamed anthropogenic global warming for his team's improbable loss to the Mets. "There's no other exlanation. The only way a Mets player can hit a homerun is through the use of illegal performance enhancing temperatures." <p>
When asked to explain, Girardi ranted that Ike Davis couldn't hit a ball over a Little League fence without climatic juice. <p>
"That ball barely made it into the first row. And it went off of Swisher's glove, so it should have been a grounds-rule double."<p>
When a reporter from the NY Post suggested that a ball bouncing off a player's glove and over the wall is indeed a homer, Girardi accused him of being a right-wing climate change denier. <p>
<b>"SHUT UP!"</B> he explained, then stormed out of the pressroom without answering any further questions.<p>Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-26721096865248308192009-11-16T08:30:00.005-05:002009-11-16T15:59:52.957-05:00Farewell Breaker<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5-71s_rJlw9VvAh0lS6hVEtTCttdxXX5X3JZLbyyYB3zHyY-J5vgHA0PJdf7mxq6nR-qovtYhu_PIJIW-lDig_DuYp05z18nPQDxlJe5o2c6c60v6THDfUixTJbww3K39QRK4ncQXIMh/s1600/Equalizer.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5-71s_rJlw9VvAh0lS6hVEtTCttdxXX5X3JZLbyyYB3zHyY-J5vgHA0PJdf7mxq6nR-qovtYhu_PIJIW-lDig_DuYp05z18nPQDxlJe5o2c6c60v6THDfUixTJbww3K39QRK4ncQXIMh/s200/Equalizer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404694794905685602" /></a>Edward Woodward died yesterday at the age of 79. <br /><br />Best known as Robert McCall on the hit 80s crime show The Equalizer, Mr. Woodward played the title role of Harry "Breaker" Morant in the breakthrough Australian film Breaker Morant and turned in an exceptional performance as the Ghost of Christmas Present in the George C. Scott television version of A Christmas Carol.<br /><br />In what is one of the most powerful scenes in all of English literature, Edward Woodward gave the Spirit an aura humanity tinged with excruciating dread. <br /><br /><b><i>'Spirit. are they yours.' Scrooge could say no more.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsJ6oDKDMrfr0OFNBnnTPIcfYU4iJB2EYzQTHpp8bxJthyUjgxqGuj9CD-5uite41yEHbJYsW80IpNQ9VhGuLhI-LDBbZLKCK0FGlMvo6CnCoD1dg1rjWakkheiyS4loxq5M05L9748KW/s1600/Ignorance+%26+Want.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsJ6oDKDMrfr0OFNBnnTPIcfYU4iJB2EYzQTHpp8bxJthyUjgxqGuj9CD-5uite41yEHbJYsW80IpNQ9VhGuLhI-LDBbZLKCK0FGlMvo6CnCoD1dg1rjWakkheiyS4loxq5M05L9748KW/s200/Ignorance+%26+Want.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404698412533191298" /></a>'They are Man's,' said the Spirit, looking down upon them. 'And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers.<br /><br />This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. <br /><br />Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it.' cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. 'Slander those who tell it ye.<br /><br />Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And abide the end.'<br /> <br />'Have they no refuge or resource.' cried Scrooge.<br /> <br />'Are there no prisons.' said the Spirit, turning on him<br />for the last time with his own words. 'Are there no workhouses.'"</b></i><br /><br />In the same way, he brought Robert McCall to life. A disillusioned retired intelligence operative of independent means, he was a true-to-life James Bond. Instead of fighting evil geniuses, he took arms against a sea of trouble caused by the random acts of violence that were so common in the New York City of the 1980s. The Equalizer was a great show with great supporting players, great locales--shot on the streets of New York--and great, great music by Stewart Copeland.<br /><br />The Equalizer tapped into the undercurrent of fear that was pervasive in pre-Giuliani New York City. They couldn't make that show today with its dark and foreboding atmosphere. <br /><br />I never liked Rudy, but you cannot dispute the fact that he transformed New York.<br /><br />Requiem in Pacis Mr. Woodward.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-89725782073990065072009-11-16T07:46:00.007-05:002009-11-24T08:40:28.402-05:00Coffee, Coffee Everywhere!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXk3eiot5r-lP51nDR0dEhqdPQax-aOhBraNmLBqh7msfhXBlEAxBvsClqut5ZZ59UWozHevlNbIFWX4fDYxRQEAIGTHg6xvj7AwnDEUuj5-Dz0JhQcCRMEtxYnjIykulhQlG6u7571XA1/s1600/Keurig.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXk3eiot5r-lP51nDR0dEhqdPQax-aOhBraNmLBqh7msfhXBlEAxBvsClqut5ZZ59UWozHevlNbIFWX4fDYxRQEAIGTHg6xvj7AwnDEUuj5-Dz0JhQcCRMEtxYnjIykulhQlG6u7571XA1/s200/Keurig.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404685163572266322" /></a>Just got a new Keurig Platinum coffee maker. Only problem is that I have this visceral aversion to buying trendy convenience stuff like those chic little K Cups filled with serving-sized portions of designer coffee.<br /><br />Then I stumbled upon this little gem that lets you re-use K-cups, filled with your own favorite Java.<br /><br />The site is here: <a href="http://www.my-kap.com/MYK/">Reuse your Keurig K-Cups!</a><br /><br />I'm gonna give it a try.<br /><br />Besides, those designer coffees always smell better than they taste.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdFO0ZEQMElexOX2WS9sG0KfR7B1vEBHr68MMfG0Mexc-Qp7_wsjTzrAgWcUKUWDYwUo5IlIlWKViZ4086EOm6IAnQtU8-Sv6WmRfON56oUFpKK0jzVHZ8CBym-QScBtYixgQ_eXdPWwS/s1600/K-Kap.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdFO0ZEQMElexOX2WS9sG0KfR7B1vEBHr68MMfG0Mexc-Qp7_wsjTzrAgWcUKUWDYwUo5IlIlWKViZ4086EOm6IAnQtU8-Sv6WmRfON56oUFpKK0jzVHZ8CBym-QScBtYixgQ_eXdPWwS/s200/K-Kap.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404685521244615362" /></a>Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-91885399359132896872009-11-05T05:45:00.034-05:002009-11-07T10:06:25.194-05:00All Rangel-ed Up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVaD85mVyaUkH0vevJ1Hcp2yjagzn5is2Xc87svMdlAvOBU7laRAO4JVTP8s4azhYS_EVljM-oXdMzdc2wzD-_8XVrWghjsrQro1SW6ZQcbEWCV7xQFSyyRBGhhvxtcC5fRJYI6U-Tmu7A/s1600-h/Audit+Sweepstakes.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVaD85mVyaUkH0vevJ1Hcp2yjagzn5is2Xc87svMdlAvOBU7laRAO4JVTP8s4azhYS_EVljM-oXdMzdc2wzD-_8XVrWghjsrQro1SW6ZQcbEWCV7xQFSyyRBGhhvxtcC5fRJYI6U-Tmu7A/s320/Audit+Sweepstakes.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401355215676289474" /></a>Rarely does a single piece of mail cause one's heart to flutter, face to flush and knees to buckle. <br /><br />But, then again, rarely does a piece of mail arrive with the dreaded return address:<br /><br /><b>Department of the Treasury<br />Internal Revenue Service</b><br /><br />That's the "Welcome Home" that greeted me this past Tuesday as I dragged myself through the front door after a rough day of earning a living, playing golf and ferrying adolescent infants from one suburban soiree to another. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I owed our esteemed and infallible federal government... <b>$11,589.22!</b><br /><br />Holy smoke. What did I do this time?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_A5Lk_GmDzx3oQXhuxu_8unH6dCO0ZQH_B2LJ00koQXOLByNMQFhGrlPDPRc6e5xep4kT5omg5gd-efHJtHczFZZX6naJegYzVhquM5NJDQ-hxYGBVQQDiSbpRQcDBkrOeQ0wLJrKaOi/s1600-h/Audit+BigWigs.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_A5Lk_GmDzx3oQXhuxu_8unH6dCO0ZQH_B2LJ00koQXOLByNMQFhGrlPDPRc6e5xep4kT5omg5gd-efHJtHczFZZX6naJegYzVhquM5NJDQ-hxYGBVQQDiSbpRQcDBkrOeQ0wLJrKaOi/s200/Audit+BigWigs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401365202001716018" /></a>Now look, I'm not the Secretary of the Treasury. <br /><br />I'm not the chairman of the Federal Reserve.<br /><br />I'm not a New York Times columnist who also consulted for Enron. <br /><br />I'm not even a graduate of the Harvard Business School, a Fortune 500 CEO, a wheeler dealer in foreign exchange arbitrage or the chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee. <br /><br />The tax code, for me, is not all that complicated.<br /><br />I don't have income from esoteric foreign sources, like Timothy Geithner. <br /><br />I don't keep piles of cash in my freezer like Rep. William Jefferson of New Orleans.<br /><br />And I didn't make billions selling collateralized debt obligations to individual investors and pension funds while also making private wagers on the collapse of the mortgage market, like Goldman-Sachs. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGo1bsRT-0pxd7jqDL40Fqto_wHaPVUd8AYhwPjd7udhLtSub24MiJaS8G9_FR_VK_48AYP2U_YmnKGA0a9b3xRSlj_pK5HSrnGs1EtigSKkUk_hlRDvXb0MPZTXdfSWL75vsy8ZZHXZ2/s1600-h/Audit+Rangel+Lounge.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGo1bsRT-0pxd7jqDL40Fqto_wHaPVUd8AYhwPjd7udhLtSub24MiJaS8G9_FR_VK_48AYP2U_YmnKGA0a9b3xRSlj_pK5HSrnGs1EtigSKkUk_hlRDvXb0MPZTXdfSWL75vsy8ZZHXZ2/s320/Audit+Rangel+Lounge.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401361206645474690" /></a>It's also very difficult for me to make <b>HONEST</B> mistakes about rental income from condos in Puerto Rico, villas in the Dominican Republic and sublets from multiple rent-controlled New York apartments. <br /><br />Unlike Charles Rangel I don't have those kinds of investments. <br /><br />Most of us don't and if we did, we'd be evicted, audited, harassed, terrorized and waterboarded before being prosecuted. <br /><br />No, my life and my income streams are exceedingly boring.<br /><br />So, what was my transgression?<br /><br /><b>UNREPORTED INCOME?!</B><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_d869LBvpJ182lMNxKs0AZWXz4s-ncUHazDKmfapuNbsWgTmOye9P5LAeVMBxVq6RoxwZJdv3k6RrFLh_MM1bKDUNbreSEu2fz2_mAXNu-UgQOXIy8GOufu_Jpy2-7Bc75fHQw2CSZL3/s1600-h/Audit+Collage.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_d869LBvpJ182lMNxKs0AZWXz4s-ncUHazDKmfapuNbsWgTmOye9P5LAeVMBxVq6RoxwZJdv3k6RrFLh_MM1bKDUNbreSEu2fz2_mAXNu-UgQOXIy8GOufu_Jpy2-7Bc75fHQw2CSZL3/s200/Audit+Collage.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401357127768978834" /></a>How on earth can I un-report? My life, again, like most of our lives, is an open book. <br /><br />The federal government knows who I am, where I live, what I do and how much money I make. <br /><br />It's all documented by the gigantic legion of American businesses, large and small, who, in addition to struggling to earn a profit also have to serve as government tax collectors. <br /><br />Every year these businesses send out millions of W-2s, 1099s and a wide variety of related tax documents that make it impossible for ordinary citizens to claim complexity or honest mistakes when confronted by a jack-booted stormtrooper carrying a Treasury Department ID card.<br /><br />But, there it is in horrifying black and white on official Department of the Treasury stationery.<br /><br />Non-employee compensation: $17,000<br />Capital Gains from the sale of stocks and bonds: $17,225<br /><br />With penalties and interest... <b>I owe $11,589.22!!!!</b><br /><br />Quick, let's go to the videotape.<br /><br />In this case, the TurboTax file for the year in question.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLWpUk0rJOdwN8j6Srbg-PT4nMo7xDMch7RKRxQv5G340IHuXzyPQJLq6aC9u5NKi_WyQENjJDXqNMs9BipZY-eXWhnK0vnTto9Iue67oX77yn5jo81IrmblzmVtnxoqXRLo3dR3_m8qR/s1600-h/Audit+TT.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLWpUk0rJOdwN8j6Srbg-PT4nMo7xDMch7RKRxQv5G340IHuXzyPQJLq6aC9u5NKi_WyQENjJDXqNMs9BipZY-eXWhnK0vnTto9Iue67oX77yn5jo81IrmblzmVtnxoqXRLo3dR3_m8qR/s320/Audit+TT.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401371642177225474" /></a>Click the "Income" button. Scroll down a few lines...<br /><br />There it is, right on my Schedule C: Non-Employee Compensation, $17,000.<br /><br />Whew, that's a relief.<br /><br />Scroll down a few more lines to Investment Income and presto... under Capital Gain... <br /><br />Proceeds from Sale = $17,255<br />Cost Basis = $15,900<br /><br />Capital Gain = $1,355<br /><br />Whew... relieved again.<br /><br />Not very complicated. Not much wiggle room to claim an honest mistake. Every penny documented and reported to the powers that be in our nation's capitol.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi36oTlABSFwZj4DT3nGDxZIzm8Zb71iKlxUYTkprUKyeVKNlKHZqyNCGR0MHtGwrhYT-s5R_DJwBa6pd9J8xdRsWA_UTIJVpogfJZd3pH28fyjGOH3gzGeKTt1YZE6B5qmgIy-nC9iRHJN/s1600-h/Audit+Shake.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 257px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi36oTlABSFwZj4DT3nGDxZIzm8Zb71iKlxUYTkprUKyeVKNlKHZqyNCGR0MHtGwrhYT-s5R_DJwBa6pd9J8xdRsWA_UTIJVpogfJZd3pH28fyjGOH3gzGeKTt1YZE6B5qmgIy-nC9iRHJN/s320/Audit+Shake.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401372288491840034" /></a>But very quickly, my sense of relief turned to anger and outrage.<br /><br />How can a dedicated public servant waste time and resources generating a 26 page document that seeks to explain why I owe back taxes on income that I have already been taxed on? <br /><br />What's more frustrating is this: How can this Mensa member suggest that my capital gain on the sale of stock is exactly equal to the proceeds of the sale? <br /><br />Does she believe that <b>I PAID ZERO DOLLARS?</B> <br /><br />I'm not Hillary Clinton. <br /><br />Stock certificates, cattle futures contracts and mansions in Chappaqua do not appear, as if by magic, in my Christmas stocking every December 25th.<br /><br />So now I'm on the seventh draft of my reply letter. I've taken out the references to Cossacks and Brown Shirts. I've even removed my description of this particular bungling bureaucrat as Her Highness, the Twittering Twat of the Treasury. That one hurt. I like the alliteration.<br /><br />But if we cannot expect the people that write the tax laws and collect the taxes to understand the complexities and requirements of the tax code, the very least we can hope for is that the people who have the power to terrorize us through the mail system should be able to read a simple--a very simple--tax return.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-80891423232238782792009-06-01T07:42:00.033-05:002009-06-05T08:21:30.598-05:00Feelin' Groovy?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mz8DHIQS1qyl9Se1b1J1AIqUtZpDXz1N6pH-5EhJcqE-4JzhIMHGY0h_fjsTnelyqLXLanYYz3h2aby34ADdGfOeT2H0H9cea2R5bL6BA-Q1N_YVu5vbRyooHnM53eQR1AbgsEwQT0Or/s1600-h/toffler.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 155px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mz8DHIQS1qyl9Se1b1J1AIqUtZpDXz1N6pH-5EhJcqE-4JzhIMHGY0h_fjsTnelyqLXLanYYz3h2aby34ADdGfOeT2H0H9cea2R5bL6BA-Q1N_YVu5vbRyooHnM53eQR1AbgsEwQT0Or/s320/toffler.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343490723184993762" /></a>In his landmark book, Future Shock, Alvin Toffler postulated that it was not the nature of change that would cause the downfall of modern civilization, but the speed of change. <br /><br />Poor Alvin. <br /><br />How could he have envisioned the world we inhabit today?<br /><br />On the surface, it would seem that the pace of modern life is accelerating exponentially. There's never enough time. We're always rushing. A short delay in the daily sprint causes road rage, high blood pressure and hemorrhoids. <br /><br />Poor, poor us. <br /><br />So it was with a combination of curiosity and skepticism that I picked up "In Praise of Slowness" by Carl Honoré. The sub-title, "How a Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed," provides some insight into the author's preconceptions, i.e. that speed, in and of itself, is the culprit.<br /><br />I respectfully disagree.<br /><br />Historically, when we look at the proponents of the simpler, slower life many have a unique and irritating trait in common: they have already made or inherited their millions. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3z20MROzGE2q2zJZl_R_t7bzDd-uAcUas5qGfdPGVSB_FQJmGcr59oEQRITrSmnu_uJggXgFhTtOOW5HjAhmHU-KSoagIMh3IDY0fxYVkU4XahUJXOguuZ-YOC8uBOpPTV9-s3n__mIlI/s1600-h/Slow+Down.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3z20MROzGE2q2zJZl_R_t7bzDd-uAcUas5qGfdPGVSB_FQJmGcr59oEQRITrSmnu_uJggXgFhTtOOW5HjAhmHU-KSoagIMh3IDY0fxYVkU4XahUJXOguuZ-YOC8uBOpPTV9-s3n__mIlI/s320/Slow+Down.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343495223756932786" /></a>Short of that, they have a comfortable social hammock (Thoreau for example) woven of friends and family willing to indulge their indolence. <br /><br />Invariably, those who can afford to contemplate their navels while seated in a half lotus position are already rich or they are counting on someone else to pay the rent.<br /><br />Many times the dichotomy is comical. <br /><br />On a movie set, the action is frenetic. Time is money. An afternoon rain shower causes a delay that cascades throughout the shooting schedule. The producer is screaming about time and money. The star is apoplectic because she has to be in Aspen by Friday. The director is curled up behind the camera in a fetal position. And the writer is giving an interview on <b>E!</b> telling the reporter that his masterpiece is all about how the pace of modern life is killing us all.<br /><br />Did you ever wonder why Paul Simon didn't think of slowin' down or kickin' down the cobblestones until he had a dozen top-ten hits under his belt? <br /><br /><b>He was too busy doing the important, creative work that made him his millions in the first place!</b><br /><br />My modest proposal: Don't slow down, make the rest of the world slow down.<br /><br />Superstar athletes know the secret. Chess grandmasters know it too.<br /><br />It was said that Wayne Gretzky could envision patterns on the ice five seconds ahead of real time. For him, the game slowed down and he was always in the right place at precisely the right time. The Great One was able to see that lightning-fast game unfold before his eyes in super slow motion. <br /><br />Bobby Fisher could see the chess board several moves ahead of his opponent. He didn't speed up his calculations. Instead, he eliminated extraneous variables and the game slowed down for him while it sped up for his competitors. A chess computer may be able to calculate every conceivable move with lightning speed, but a world-class grandmaster is able to zero in on the perfect move in every situation.<br /><br />For us it's easier. We're not playing NHL hockey or competing against the world's finest chess masters.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaNflPkh-_VGzk50ffhVQ0UeP-vWjPz93aSHXWc1H86U0liMXGlC6wjO2a5yWIVaP-pPtjRHhJNKq5V6-o9XUpK1qI0Fj7SvF-PkOxpqTuXxWbbx3voRWVWGRBSBnUiW3ZMNqCCvj5Tj_/s1600-h/Blackberry+Chicks.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaNflPkh-_VGzk50ffhVQ0UeP-vWjPz93aSHXWc1H86U0liMXGlC6wjO2a5yWIVaP-pPtjRHhJNKq5V6-o9XUpK1qI0Fj7SvF-PkOxpqTuXxWbbx3voRWVWGRBSBnUiW3ZMNqCCvj5Tj_/s320/Blackberry+Chicks.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343489557638783842" /></a>For the overwhelming majority of normal, sentient beings the task at hand is to eschew the trivial pursuits that squander time, destroy productivity and make it seem as if we're all hurtling toward a black hole. <br /><br />Step back for a moment. Look and listen. Today, those that complain loudest about their lives spinning out of control never eliminate extraneous variables. <br /><br />In fact, triviality is their religion.<br /><br />Just take an objective look at what sort of information makes the rounds on any of the cyber versions of the Foro Romano. <br /><br /><b><i>"Herman Fruschnick</b> is waiting at the Dunkin' Donuts Drive Thru."<br /><br /><b>"Tippi Canavari</b> wants Benno Blimpy to win The Biggest Loser."</i><br /><br />So rather than demonizing the Cult of Speed, perhaps Mr. Honoré should revisit the topic to find what's really ailing us. <br /><br />Is it velocity, or is it volume? Are we rushing toward oblivion at the speed of light; or are being being buried under an avalanche of text messages, emails and tweets?<br /><br />I suspect that after chipping away at the superficial patina of modern life he may discover that while speed kills, banality numbs.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-3183458878197244522009-05-22T06:24:00.024-05:002009-05-22T10:39:23.030-05:00Do the MathA personal story illustrates very clearly why the attraction of a single-payer health care care system is irresistible. When our first child was born my wife and I decided that we would both share the child-care responsibilities. Since I had been freelancing for nearly a decade, it was easy for me to arrange my schedule and still hold up my end of the bargain. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqytYLZigBtUDFKNmt3XFdbldSw4N8-eCiotYPHXFz3dwa_OSif5PxvuAOv-c5piKswOuS9pRBHKk0iK_M5qw88jCdC7SXkfQLsMyHR8hHJSQ_bAq_LlHTHFlxjWWnvTfdRSvIVh7-u8m/s1600-h/M&A.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 232px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqytYLZigBtUDFKNmt3XFdbldSw4N8-eCiotYPHXFz3dwa_OSif5PxvuAOv-c5piKswOuS9pRBHKk0iK_M5qw88jCdC7SXkfQLsMyHR8hHJSQ_bAq_LlHTHFlxjWWnvTfdRSvIVh7-u8m/s320/M&A.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338660740211972546" /></a>For Maureen the decision was far more complex. She was entitled to child-care leave, but with the associated loss of income and benefits we would have to arrange our life in ways that reflected our new circumstances.<br /><br />It turned out to be easier than we had anticipated.<br /><br />Spurred on by the external motivation of having our income halved and the arrival of our second child, my career flourished. And fueled by the internet revolution the ranks of independent contractors and consultants swelled, leading also to an expansion of services and benefit plans aimed at freelancers. <br /><br />In the area of health care we were faced with a choice. We could cover our family's medical risks with a comprehensive COBRA plan priced at $650 per month or we could design our own plan from the menu of offerings available through the major insurance providers.<br /><br />We chose the latter option at a price of $196 per month.<br /><br />Here are the details.<br /><br />Under the COBRA plan all of our medical expenses would be covered, minus deductibles and co-pays.<br /><br />Under our plan each family member was subject to a $2,000 deductible with a family deductible of $4,000. After we reached those thresholds all of our medical expenses would be covered.<br /><br />So let's make a quick cocktail napkin analysis.<br /><br />Under our plan, the most we could be on the hook for in a worst-case scenario was the $2,352 premium payment plus the $4,000 out of pocket deductible for a grand total of $6,352. In reality, we wrote a check whenever Matt saw the pediatrician and our expenses for that first year topped out at less than $2,800.<br /><br />Compare this to the best-case scenario under the COBRA. Let's say that none of us got sick or had to go to the doctor. Our premium payments alone would have amounted to $7,800. Add to this the deductibles and co-pays involved had we incurred the hypothetical $4,000 in medical expenses and the total would have topped $9,000.<br /><br />Our choice was easy and many other New York freelancers made similar choices. <br /><br />But here in the Empire State <b><i>CHOICE</B></I> is a four-letter word, except in a very narrow context. Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield along with the civil service unions and public policy advocates went in front of our state legislature and <b><i>LIED, LIED, LIED!</B></I> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYf_wt468qgMP9hMtreMXU7tZQv-IHJuFkJmk6BzEgk_NP39NmaHdGrYarerLEK6ynJnSSN2TdWqZ8mysELn1EBWGhmlnntB5t1i4r_WzwnYHSBGnY0eX5A8PhArS-aQ_n7yxhEmWlDHz/s1600-h/Blue+Cross.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYf_wt468qgMP9hMtreMXU7tZQv-IHJuFkJmk6BzEgk_NP39NmaHdGrYarerLEK6ynJnSSN2TdWqZ8mysELn1EBWGhmlnntB5t1i4r_WzwnYHSBGnY0eX5A8PhArS-aQ_n7yxhEmWlDHz/s320/Blue+Cross.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338663136639422370" /></a>Challenged by an aggressive new group of competitors and facing massive market-share erosion most businesses would seek ways to upgrade their offering, improve their service and reduce their costs.<br /><br />But no. Empire Blue Cross and other non-profit insurers went crying to the government. <br /><br />They misrepresented their finances with bogus financial documents. <br /><br />Civil service unions predicted that New Yorkers would die in emergency rooms if non-profits were forced to compete with the more flexible benefit plans.<br /><br />Public policy experts described holders of high-deductible plans, like ours, as the growing number of under-insured, forced into inferior plans by dire circumstances or duped by unscrupulous insurance salesmen. <br /><br />Once again the experts contended that Americans were simply too stupid to make their own decisions.<br /><br />If given a state-sanctioned monopoly, the non-profits promised to provide better coverage at lower premiums.<br /><br />So, with no other choice, we were forced into a comprehensive benefits plan. The premium by this time ballooned to more than $700 per month and by the time Maureen went back to work four years later we were paying $980 each month for comprehensive benefits we didn't want and didn't need. So much for promises.<br /><br />When it became clear that the New York State legislature had formulated their new regulations based on lies, deceit and corruption, I asked our State Senator if there was any possibility that the state would revisit the issue.<br /><br /><b><i>"No chance,"</b></i> came his reply.<br /><br />Graft has momentum and the fruits of graft are so great that individual liberty stands little chance against a stampeding herd of parasites. But there's another dynamic in play. One that's far more insidious: Willful ignorance and the voluntary surrender to constant, relentless propaganda. When describing our chosen medical plan to friends and relatives, they were horrified.<br /><br /><b><i>"You mean... you have to pay to go to the doctor?"<br /><br />"Well, yes, but we only pay $196 per month and if anyone gets seriously ill we don't have to worry about being bankrupted by medical bills."<br /><br />"Yeah, but, you have to pay to go to the doctor!"</b></i><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6uBtJIP5HnplDnB52FKf7fMJCXxXsjnm9bSdVLz6TEE_SccIzI2Se1pf3kNsTFexklrN1UqzA-vW3SeCHlW6SpB9cRPa1b3Yhar_C59Y4myVgOYbcL9Gd-tNSeyJ0IK0MTjwshOR74k3/s1600-h/Canadian+Health.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6uBtJIP5HnplDnB52FKf7fMJCXxXsjnm9bSdVLz6TEE_SccIzI2Se1pf3kNsTFexklrN1UqzA-vW3SeCHlW6SpB9cRPa1b3Yhar_C59Y4myVgOYbcL9Gd-tNSeyJ0IK0MTjwshOR74k3/s320/Canadian+Health.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338665383601814530" /></a>And that's the attraction of a single-payer health care system: Nobody has to pay to go to the doctor. <br /><br />You can do the math. Run the numbers. Explain the pros and cons, but it's useless because for the vast majority of today's citizens the Canadian model is perfect. <br /><br />Put simply, in Canada nobody has to go through the humiliation of paying for a doctor's visit, but seriously ill Canadians wait eight months or more for cancer surgery. <br /><br />So when Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Barack Obama or the simpleton who chooses to pay for Starbuck's coffee while waiting for someone else to pick up the tab for health insurance speaks of universal coverage ask this question:<br /><br /><b>Coverage for what?</b><br /><br />The truth is that when health-care bureaucrats and public policy experts refer to cost containment what they really they mean is rationing of the most expensive medical treatments and procedures. <br /><br />Just as in Canada, the bureaucrats will be happy to provide low-cost services for people who aren't sick, then ration acute care so that by the time the patient's treatment is approved, they're already dead.<br /><br />That's what I call compassion.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-17340901251537889362009-05-21T05:30:00.024-05:002009-05-22T06:24:09.980-05:00Health Versus Healthcare<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vU9z7EuXhkRZLdZKme_Lc5NOqdUB_Kk7POBLfnD_c6YOEK9YQeEIzj_qUTVXLOonRH8ajx0MK-krVbxTYfrL4uEJijuOmFCb4eQQ5kZPP9ZYexVec_NwwRnnyZAOuzxiXyMaULxwVX18/s1600-h/Nixon.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vU9z7EuXhkRZLdZKme_Lc5NOqdUB_Kk7POBLfnD_c6YOEK9YQeEIzj_qUTVXLOonRH8ajx0MK-krVbxTYfrL4uEJijuOmFCb4eQQ5kZPP9ZYexVec_NwwRnnyZAOuzxiXyMaULxwVX18/s200/Nixon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338250501303351858" /></a>Nearly thirty years ago, as a Fortune 500 employee, I attended a seminar on health care finance. Newly hired and full of enthusiasm I volunteered for every "extra curricular" I could fit into my schedule. This one was very revealing and ominously prescient. <br /><br />To my great good fortune I arrived in my new position just as the Nixon-Ford-Carter wage and price controls were lapsing so my income increased by about 40% on my starting day. <br /><br />Other effects of the 1970's economic policies were more pernicious and far reaching. Prohibited from raising salaries beyond the government limit, employers sought alternative ways to attract new employees and retain current ones. As a result, non-salary benefit packages were expanded. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEish85oZrCqVzkgkcsoFzj45umMpOk8DjUD-tHhwy9vByGUerK8GnI8i1gWonxNs25NQPPmiJkNH6ewgg0VpXAfXqQbgzUtgYTgr4_Y6MgmA-hICJWy1T5tTgGe8wT2Td5y-gbJPtvtLVmY/s1600-h/Dirty+Profits.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEish85oZrCqVzkgkcsoFzj45umMpOk8DjUD-tHhwy9vByGUerK8GnI8i1gWonxNs25NQPPmiJkNH6ewgg0VpXAfXqQbgzUtgYTgr4_Y6MgmA-hICJWy1T5tTgGe8wT2Td5y-gbJPtvtLVmY/s320/Dirty+Profits.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338254436306542242" /></a>Health care benefits, which were referred to as "Hospitalization" in prior generations now became more comprehensive, adding layer upon additional layer of services that benefit plans would cover.<br /><br />One member of the panel predicted that the current system of medical insurance was in danger of becoming a bureaucratic third-party payment plan for routine doctor visits. <br /><br />As with all third-party payment plans, he warned, health-care costs were sure to skyrocket as administrative costs spiked up and consumer choices spiraled down. That was in 1981.<br /><br />Now, three decades later, we are mired in another self-inflicted catastrophe which the ruling class has termed:<b>The Health Care Crisis!</b><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPnSse54p4xbVKzBpYZ6GQFV4clt3201_DiXy4_fZjrXC7D-FTVP4FRcMy1jSEJz2zhAMrUYUYJuhaY-AcEdVXGE4D_5Lm7fKuMwwDvuZc1YJpEQ7QvtZ0nQ6yx5GrvWZINPMZVks6FNF/s1600-h/HealthCareCrisis.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPnSse54p4xbVKzBpYZ6GQFV4clt3201_DiXy4_fZjrXC7D-FTVP4FRcMy1jSEJz2zhAMrUYUYJuhaY-AcEdVXGE4D_5Lm7fKuMwwDvuZc1YJpEQ7QvtZ0nQ6yx5GrvWZINPMZVks6FNF/s320/HealthCareCrisis.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338254245365943666" /></a>We can debate the merits of one health policy proposal versus another, but thoughtful discussion of any complex issue requires precise definitions, common lexicon and the agreement among all parties to refrain from personalizing policy disagreements. <br /><br />In the current climate, thoughtful discussion is impossible.<br /><br />Those on the left claim that those who oppose national single-payer health care want to see people die in the streets. Those on the right, myself included, brand national health care advocates as communists. Whether they are true believers or merely useful idiots is yet to be determined.<br /><br />At the heart of the crisis, though, is the mind-set (predicted long ago at that seminar) that reaching into your wallet for routine medical treatment was an ordeal that no American should have to endure. <br /><br />This is where precise definitions are critical. <br /><br />Insurance versus third-party payment. <br /><br />Health care versus medicine. <br /><br />Most important, the definition of good health and how to achieve it. <br /><br />This last element has been uniquely damaging. Over the years the term "preventive medicine" has become the Holy Grail of the health industry. While the prevention philosophy is well established, a collective mythology has emerged which equates good health with more trips to the doctor. <br /><br />Nothing could be further from the truth.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYrL_YmJdf88U9SLqSWiDPCQR4eqhvacSU41IgAP-adzR1ZKycXJYj-rrVQarY8wlZ0kb3_pqFvcYRYJl5bxzqmqaMWqWUnl0Geu1_DmxgyYbmlmVq5uvsoXK54-RbSNdZL3MnxXg4M0V_/s1600-h/david-fast-food.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYrL_YmJdf88U9SLqSWiDPCQR4eqhvacSU41IgAP-adzR1ZKycXJYj-rrVQarY8wlZ0kb3_pqFvcYRYJl5bxzqmqaMWqWUnl0Geu1_DmxgyYbmlmVq5uvsoXK54-RbSNdZL3MnxXg4M0V_/s200/david-fast-food.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338258100649887074" /></a>Today, advocates for coercive universal, single-payer health care claim, rightly, that insurance is about spreading the risk. What they fail to accept is that insurance is also about pricing risk. This is the paradox: <br /><br /><b>How can our national government devise an equitable medical insurance paradigm when the leading causes of disease and premature death are self-inflicted?</b><br /><br />The short answer is that they can't. <br /><br />While very few would advocate for a universal single-payer automobile insurance system that allows a motorist with five drunk driving violations to pay the same premium as another with a clean driving record, this is exactly what the single-payer health care advocates demand. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERDbsKEBh3fo6OYdGt0AIxYGPzF_67DlK9TdXh7DqyvbLQhx1YZD-DjvaiPaeBRcy8SuH8kalZNVPD2EK9XWupwIcb7Kle29i4ss_eVs0CzLrKlwXlz4uCX0rQZTgbYE0S-xQzE1EK_qx/s1600-h/Gas+Prices.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 138px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERDbsKEBh3fo6OYdGt0AIxYGPzF_67DlK9TdXh7DqyvbLQhx1YZD-DjvaiPaeBRcy8SuH8kalZNVPD2EK9XWupwIcb7Kle29i4ss_eVs0CzLrKlwXlz4uCX0rQZTgbYE0S-xQzE1EK_qx/s200/Gas+Prices.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338258890631335554" /></a>Moreover, while we all pay auto insurance premiums to protect against large property and liability risks, we don't dip our government-issued insurance cards into the gas pump every time we fill up. <br /><br />If we did, we should not be surprised when regular unleaded jumps to $8 a gallon.<br /><br />Once again, as with nearly all social and personal crises, the fault lies not in the stars but in ourselves.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-14103910606279324972009-05-19T05:53:00.030-05:002010-01-09T09:57:07.165-05:00Bloated Idiots<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqy9ujQU0ls9eaZBmQ1J2bnTlqmbyzUSjFX-bPHzpdfZEdlUx6sD-Au27GRbIcYM102aEHae4BBDBkFDQdSHFkQKSatok5F3XrWsc4Nx_cg32ihCw52LxqkJmkUFzNlbsJoq0KrwwJWIN/s1600-h/Falcon.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqy9ujQU0ls9eaZBmQ1J2bnTlqmbyzUSjFX-bPHzpdfZEdlUx6sD-Au27GRbIcYM102aEHae4BBDBkFDQdSHFkQKSatok5F3XrWsc4Nx_cg32ihCw52LxqkJmkUFzNlbsJoq0KrwwJWIN/s320/Falcon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337830113345263170" /></a>In the Dashiell Hammet classic The Maltese Falcon, Casper Gutman discovers that the black bird he has been chasing for nearly two decades is nothing more than a crude fake.<br /><br />Joel Cairo, unable to contain his disappointment cries:<br /><br /><b><i>"You imbecile. You bloated idiot. You and your stupid attempts to buy it!"</b></i><br /><br />Yes. Yes. Crude attempts at gaining what you covet intensely very often result in disappointment. Today, the devotees of Daily Kos and Democratic Underground are consumed by two separate and conflicting desires. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpx9mgKtKOYIks_Ayd6kNYW2NOouaortpematiT7_H4dHUwWsnGllG6wDK5_iX-MC_hCw-HPCR0P6Xw911iIpgfI5htVnc1wbpNdo66UeHnMTztX_KE1gvaFLohtgIlSWRbcsim698QrN/s1600-h/guillotine.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 146px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpx9mgKtKOYIks_Ayd6kNYW2NOouaortpematiT7_H4dHUwWsnGllG6wDK5_iX-MC_hCw-HPCR0P6Xw911iIpgfI5htVnc1wbpNdo66UeHnMTztX_KE1gvaFLohtgIlSWRbcsim698QrN/s200/guillotine.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337873578886686466" /></a>The first is retribution. <br /><br />George W. Bush trashed our Constitution, lied us into war and authorized an illegal and useless torture program for no other reason than, well, he's bad guy--a stupid guy--who did dumb things and enjoyed inflicting pain. <br /><br />Today's rabble won't be satisfied until the former president is burned at the stake, paraded to the guillotine in an oxcart or left in a cell with a pistol and a cyanide capsule.<br /><br />Through all of this, our esteemed Speaker, Lady Robespierre, has been playing a very perilous game, i.e. fanning the flames of wingnut revenge just enough to keep the embers glowing but not so much that they singe her pubic hairs. <br /><br />It has been a delicate and dangerous dance indeed and she has proven not to be particularly adept at this version of the two-step. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaOkDCqoFqpyef6bHKaiCChOS8Ubxt7yMeP6tJL7TN84EC-py9gO6PdZYL5qgqWSu2gEDvCdauqUuieKAwt2e6mZSZVx0HHBeuvSwMK3M3VfHXAft1VxrHcSyum6ExsgBH4DDReW87yJxX/s1600-h/Gothic.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaOkDCqoFqpyef6bHKaiCChOS8Ubxt7yMeP6tJL7TN84EC-py9gO6PdZYL5qgqWSu2gEDvCdauqUuieKAwt2e6mZSZVx0HHBeuvSwMK3M3VfHXAft1VxrHcSyum6ExsgBH4DDReW87yJxX/s320/Gothic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337877638549836914" /></a>To hear our current national leadership speak, you would think that they had spent the last eight years in a sensory-deprivation chamber. <br /><br />Silly me, I thought that members of the Intelligence Committee attended briefings on intelligence. <br /><br />It seems they were as attentive as were members of the Banking Committee and the Financial Services Committee, or so they say. <br /><br />Funny thing, though, about the goings on in government. <br /><br />The people who run these fandangos like to keep very detailed records and they keep them for a very long time. <br /><br />This is a common trait among bureaucrats. <br /><br />Records of the Nazi Holocaust list names, dates and precise hours of the day for every atrocity they committed in pursuit of a more perfect world. But I digress. Written, contemporaneous accounts of each and every briefing indicate that unless our leaders in Washington were all suffering from somnambulism, they had to have some knowledge of enhanced interrogation methods. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGfKavHS3R23AETUSe9vP750kjdC5ZtNUjYpzvlByz-ePxdPkgcCPFBDZkaKy5G3IWbcaCr0SSdA5Qva7oAqK4gf-G1FgAXXWzbNeOFIBbGhsGMkoznVnPgo5wd5aP1T8m2xez3zEletY/s1600-h/nancy-pelosi-facelift.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGfKavHS3R23AETUSe9vP750kjdC5ZtNUjYpzvlByz-ePxdPkgcCPFBDZkaKy5G3IWbcaCr0SSdA5Qva7oAqK4gf-G1FgAXXWzbNeOFIBbGhsGMkoznVnPgo5wd5aP1T8m2xez3zEletY/s200/nancy-pelosi-facelift.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337882555799299474" /></a>In fact, records indicate that when informed of the details of waterboarding, the Speaker-to-Be asked:<br /><br /><b><i>"Are you sure that's enough?"</b></i><br /><br />So now Pelosi, Murtha, et.al. are being waterboarded by their own words and they don't like it one little bit. <br /><br />To add to the irony, Frau Facelift's former patron and mentor, current CIA Director Leon Panetta, issued a scathing memo excoriating those who would cast doubt upon his department and its brave men and women.<br /><br />Et tu, Leon.<br /><br />So if Curious George deserves the guillotine, doesn't Nancy at least merit a little nip and tuck with a chain saw?<br /><br />Which brings us to that other all-consuming craving of the left, i.e. implementing every hare-brained scheme cooked up by Ivy League eggheads and Saul Alinksy acolytes over the last fifty years.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZfLxh6c356FkeFU5WEzde-OTiuTEfljsezA2Fq-WpbAyrkjdiEuMP9himJEpNb7GEMVbYWqD5_JwcoN3Q-hgcGZ4mwpNZK76kkPc6eQNHapw-gX00XHyUX0ZMLO7tgbH-lKQY4-1rUGY/s1600-h/estrich.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZfLxh6c356FkeFU5WEzde-OTiuTEfljsezA2Fq-WpbAyrkjdiEuMP9himJEpNb7GEMVbYWqD5_JwcoN3Q-hgcGZ4mwpNZK76kkPc6eQNHapw-gX00XHyUX0ZMLO7tgbH-lKQY4-1rUGY/s200/estrich.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337882955942844658" /></a>Alas, the distraction of <b><i>"What Did Nancy Know and When Did She Know It"</b></i> threatens to divert political energy from more important Democratic Party objectives, such as eroding our freedoms, confiscating our wealth and dismantling free enterprise.<br /><br />It won't be long now. As their dreams of a Euro-socialist Utopia quickly fade the witless parasites, misfits, and malcontents of the left will soon turn on their own heroes, screaming...<br /><br /><b><i>You imbeciles. You bloated idiots!</b></i><br /><br />Migliore fortuna la volta prossima.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-30215633380995535692009-05-18T07:33:00.025-05:002009-05-18T11:39:32.234-05:00Intellectual Misuserisms<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnN5YUP27EZaG_Vn4KBMIFXh7a8FRAKwiUKw5d9HikLZKuJDGvtseYaFLdpEoYjFKRu3JjomBZR2cxdxJyeDRtEz5-dTZ4ctuzQEu3EUZfEcbA8U9oVoMKYY7glFG_49BlSphywnDNJzXx/s1600-h/Lina+Lamont.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnN5YUP27EZaG_Vn4KBMIFXh7a8FRAKwiUKw5d9HikLZKuJDGvtseYaFLdpEoYjFKRu3JjomBZR2cxdxJyeDRtEz5-dTZ4ctuzQEu3EUZfEcbA8U9oVoMKYY7glFG_49BlSphywnDNJzXx/s320/Lina+Lamont.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337204022543410786" /></a>During a conversation on politics with an old friend I offered the hope that all his faith in our new president:<br /><br /><b><i>"Ain't been in vain fer nuthin'."</b></i><br /><br />With that he reared up and replied to my comment by saying: <br /><br /><b><i>"You always ridicule with clever solipsisms."</b></i><br /><br />Far be it from me to be solipsistic, so I pointed out that he probably meant solecism.<br /><br />Mistake 1: Never quote Lina Lamont at a New York City cocktail party. They won't know what you're talking about.<br /><br />Mistake 2: Never attempt to correct the tortured misuse of the English language by New York intellectuals who pride themselves on their rhetorical skills. Especially New York intellectuals who took such great glee in equating our former president's acyrologia-laden speech with a simian level of intelligence. <br /><br />Far be it from me to defend George W. Bush's tortured misuse of English. I confess that I still hold the bigoted view that fuzzy syntax indicates fuzzy thinking.<br /><br />Then, just last week, during an interview with Wolf Blitzer Senator Dianne Feinstein of San Francisco took a shot at political opponents who would rather keep suicide bombers locked up in Guantanamo instead of halfway houses in Ashtabula.<br /><br /><b><i>"And, so, this shibboleth, which is largely used by Republicans, to say, oh, the Democrats want terrorists in your -- in your neighborhood, in your community, that is a lot of baloney. That is not true. And that's the message that is being pushed, because it frightens people."</b></i><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGrIcZotp1gtMn0kkWr_2XcYAf4v_cbYAy_-Oe5uxyBeFKR2nDR-v19FOvcvQrbmLMIo5LWMrlyE7mlfFypivyCrMJ9MWKi9j0U85usg0lYTZWs2-x6zlNwfbbKmPvbsKkhu3ZgL6pQ1l/s1600-h/Shibboleth.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 101px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGrIcZotp1gtMn0kkWr_2XcYAf4v_cbYAy_-Oe5uxyBeFKR2nDR-v19FOvcvQrbmLMIo5LWMrlyE7mlfFypivyCrMJ9MWKi9j0U85usg0lYTZWs2-x6zlNwfbbKmPvbsKkhu3ZgL6pQ1l/s320/Shibboleth.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337167240718965266" /></a>Far be it from me to to lecture Sen. Feinstein on the Old Testament. <br /><br />Rather than shibboleth, meaning password in Hebrew, she could have used canard, or misrepresentation, or prevarication or even baloney--which she did use later in her statement. But no, shibboleth has that certain intellectual panache that fuzzy-headed liberals love so dearly. <br /><br />Never mind that it's incorrect to the point of idiocy.<br /><br />This week, our Commissar in Chief was asked about his preferences in movies. In addition to calling the White House "my house" he also told of his admiration for the old Star Trek series.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAo9HhfNcpdplxPgOmEPMq-E-CcwIg4UbIoRr5Ia2QZ_6pnuNNwt4cg6C1MY8KqsDHnw2bBn7RI7EFj6U8X3sWHzKxKOfcqxCQWAEcKYR_F0j-n1Vv29IZ01rALxCcdtcSyp7jObJYL2Hy/s1600-h/Barack+Spock.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAo9HhfNcpdplxPgOmEPMq-E-CcwIg4UbIoRr5Ia2QZ_6pnuNNwt4cg6C1MY8KqsDHnw2bBn7RI7EFj6U8X3sWHzKxKOfcqxCQWAEcKYR_F0j-n1Vv29IZ01rALxCcdtcSyp7jObJYL2Hy/s320/Barack+Spock.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337163557029697042" /></a><b><i>"It turns out we got this nice theater on the ground floor of my house … So Star Trek, we saw this weekend, which I thought was good. <br /><br />I used to love Star Trek. You know, Star Trek was ahead of its time. There was a whole–the special effects weren’t real good, but the storylines were always evocative, you know, there was a little commentary and a little pop philosophy for a 10-year-old to absorb."</b></i><br /><br />Far be it from me to remind Mr. Obama that he is living in the people's house.<br /><br />But should I expect the leader of the free world to understand the difference between <b>evocative</b> and <b>provocative</b>? Apparently not. Actually, for a man who had visited all 57 states during his presidential campaign and is now making personnel decisions for the Fortune 500 what's a little misusery now and then.<br /><br />There I go again. Another clever solipsism.<br /><br />So now I have had my bigotry reaffirmed. Yes, I do believe that fuzzy usage is an indicator of fuzzy thinking, regardless of how seemingly well-spoken or articulate.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-64360695834243683732009-05-17T14:38:00.001-05:002009-05-18T06:15:07.559-05:00Before Their TimeIn the hierarchy of human misfortune, nothing comes close to the tragedy of mothers and fathers attending the funerals of their children. As a Christian I understand that death is the beginning of eternal life in the presence of God, but as much as I try to reconcile faith and fact I still cannot accept a death that occurs out of sequential order. In the past few months I have listened to homilies delivered by sincere, loving and compassionate ministers of God, but still I ache--my heart has a void at its center.<br /><br />Many years ago in Peru, we would observe the almost daily ritual of funeral processions with grieving fathers holding the tiny coffins of their infant children. And almost daily we would bow our heads and choke back a tear for babies we did not know and parents who should not have to go through this heart-wrenching ordeal. It's a distant land without modern services and they deserve better. <br /><br />Almost two decades have past, but rarely does a week go by that I don't visualize those solemn processions. <br /><br />Then a few weeks ago the word came: a young boy from our community who had been battling leukemia for several years finally lost his long fight.<br /><br />A few days later, the teen-aged son of close friends was killed while engaging in a bizarre ritual that's become all the rage with kids these days.<br /><br />And last week, the infant daughter of a friend--born prematurely--could not overcome the stresses of her birth. Forever I will retain the image of a young father holding the ashes of his infant daughter in his trembling hands.<br /><br />During this period I also got word that my oldest friend had been killed in an accident caused by his own recklessness. He was not an infant or a teenager, but his mother and father still had to attend the funeral for their son and, for them, it was a tragedy.<br /><br />The circumstances surrounding his death are unimportant. What happened was a reflection of the way he lived his life. He never gave the slightest thought for the consequences of his actions, either on himself or others. In his personal life he ran roughshod over the people who loved him. In his professional life he took advantage of our innate desire for deals that are too good to be true. As result, life savings were wiped out and lives were ruined. The victims were all strangers, of course, but it mattered little. <br /><br />His death, caused by his own reckless disregard, was a final poke in the eye to the people who cared for him.<br /><br />Four funerals. Eight grieving parents.<br /><br />In the first three cases the tragedy involves lives cut short, aspirations unfulfilled and talents left untapped.<br /><br />In the last instance the tragedy was not in how he died or even that he died. No, in this case the tragedy was in how he lived his life and the trail of wreckage he left in his wake.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-14541586598911574802009-05-17T04:40:00.000-05:002009-05-17T15:31:32.563-05:00Into the FireA business colleague once told me that rewriting your life story line by line and chapter by chapter is a futile exercise. <b><i>"If you want a new life,"</b></i> she said, <b><i>"you have to throw your old life into the fire."</b></i><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwpnsJqFeet9GPB80KHdZXSSplXRJaXVBL6TAI17WvoYc9Tutel89FNzQu7DkXpM_S0No0hbBQ-McBvkBEcbhdr2Z2CJp6HDDOzzl9Qn-py8AKzBAbWAEv07X5QZFV7awB9arOgL2wLmo/s1600-h/Fire+2001.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 130px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwpnsJqFeet9GPB80KHdZXSSplXRJaXVBL6TAI17WvoYc9Tutel89FNzQu7DkXpM_S0No0hbBQ-McBvkBEcbhdr2Z2CJp6HDDOzzl9Qn-py8AKzBAbWAEv07X5QZFV7awB9arOgL2wLmo/s320/Fire+2001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336790686447111314" /></a>It's not a new idea. <br /><br />From the legend of the Phoenix to Götterdämmerung to 2001, A Space Odyssey destruction and renewal have been integral to human mythology. <br /><br />Frustrated by incremental improvements followed by regression, those who seek perfection look to conflagration as the pathway to a better life and a better world. They're probably correct in their thinking. <br /><br />Evolution takes time, effort and commitment. Destruction provides instant gratification.<br /><br />On a macro level, we may be living through the final death scene of American freedom and democracy. In 1787 Scottish historian Alexander Tyler observed:<b><i> <br /><br />"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipGl4VLLSAJsV5dQfOYXgF2d6cLBTeFjZ3psRRFH7zXUApSNmZB61BrpDIHiupFULaCriWYGqfkhhRjnbIoFd4yCeRzNuE0R7tpSh79Sv4iDl9yyji14kiwgT-gHTJBrK7uir5HwfFFCI8/s1600-h/Barack+E.+Newman.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 174px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipGl4VLLSAJsV5dQfOYXgF2d6cLBTeFjZ3psRRFH7zXUApSNmZB61BrpDIHiupFULaCriWYGqfkhhRjnbIoFd4yCeRzNuE0R7tpSh79Sv4iDl9yyji14kiwgT-gHTJBrK7uir5HwfFFCI8/s200/Barack+E.+Newman.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336801819427125202" /></a>A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. <br /><br />From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.<br /><br />The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years,these nations always progressed through the following sequence:<br /><br />From bondage to spiritual faith;<br />From spiritual faith to great courage;<br />From courage to liberty;<br />From liberty to abundance;<br />From abundance to complacency;<br />From complacency to apathy;<br />From apathy to dependence;<br />From dependence back into bondage."</b></i><br /><br />Can anyone doubt that we Americans have learned how to vote ourselves goodies from the public treasury? More alarmingly, the evidence is clear that we are now in the apathy/dependence phase of the American death spiral.<br /><br />On the personal level, the Émile Coué de Châtaigneraie mantra gives millions of adherents daily inspiration and a faint glimmer of hope that tomorrow may be better than yesterday. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnWKNmXm4n-p4wpgxuPrgTN2bO12K64zZ1Lkt3Su3dNg2435ATX0hlT_VjwmQPsHTvQwEubUHgml9_DIfSq32Tj1TL3Nr3wpO5xlIjSdwdjCgVmdw5yS6cH55k9l0sV-1GtqZXGI7v7z4/s1600-h/Fire+Coue.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnWKNmXm4n-p4wpgxuPrgTN2bO12K64zZ1Lkt3Su3dNg2435ATX0hlT_VjwmQPsHTvQwEubUHgml9_DIfSq32Tj1TL3Nr3wpO5xlIjSdwdjCgVmdw5yS6cH55k9l0sV-1GtqZXGI7v7z4/s320/Fire+Coue.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336802174875741186" /></a>In reality, when looking back at the illusion of getting better and better, few can claim that daily incremental improvements have resulted in dramatic lifetime transformations. <br /><br />For most, every day and in every way we descend more deeply into conformity, boredom and despair.<br /><br />Bejeebers, this is depressing, pessimistic even nihilist. No it isn't.<br /><br />Every crossroad provides the pathway to a better more rewarding life.<br /><br />As a nation, throwing our old ideas about governance and civic responsibility into the fire may lead to a better society if we choose the right path.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_N3mtLaOIuGQUSWIxRCDW3ddp9BytPrWadv2LPGu9Trt7pDUntHvV0ShCBigTD1QP9HHwB3rM0BQlqIlBLpPUrmEvVEGAW02b2RGu5LDbq4TTqg8yCkwlHfdyTbZzvQm4NqWqB_kItVQ/s1600-h/Fire+Light+Bulb.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_N3mtLaOIuGQUSWIxRCDW3ddp9BytPrWadv2LPGu9Trt7pDUntHvV0ShCBigTD1QP9HHwB3rM0BQlqIlBLpPUrmEvVEGAW02b2RGu5LDbq4TTqg8yCkwlHfdyTbZzvQm4NqWqB_kItVQ/s200/Fire+Light+Bulb.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336802952098903346" /></a>For me, eliminating negative influences, tearing off self-imposed shackles and pursuing a new life story--in effect, throwing my past life into the fire--can and will lead to a happier, more productive and far more rewarding life. <br /><br />Today, I've resolved to begin the next phase of my of life with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and creative energy. <br /><br />I'm also very confident that generations to come will create a better world out of the ashes of our collective selfishness and profligacy and that I will see that better world in my lifetime.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-22382683197058197232009-02-20T11:38:00.000-05:002009-03-14T06:53:45.561-05:00The Teamwork TrapWhere are the leaders when we need them? <br /><br />Where is Teddy Roosevelt? <br /><br />Where is Robert Moses? <br /><br />Where is Lee Iacocca?<br /><br />To our great misfortune they are long gone. Some dead, some retired but all long gone. Even Bob Lutz has had enough and announced his retirement from General Motors leaving the future of the American car industry to Harvard Business School imbeciles like Rick Wagoner. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOfRxDU-K0LrIw8OUVqahn0suttvhtLTCFYnrQJTUGcWz15E80q05kEDEWLbkoWj25zkcJRvv3bgPYwJK6UM-jpce-8UY0QCz8d3FKixqcRXN1y_CIdDSm_LPeiQAG99T6PGgRFkDPUit/s1600-h/TR+Panama.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOfRxDU-K0LrIw8OUVqahn0suttvhtLTCFYnrQJTUGcWz15E80q05kEDEWLbkoWj25zkcJRvv3bgPYwJK6UM-jpce-8UY0QCz8d3FKixqcRXN1y_CIdDSm_LPeiQAG99T6PGgRFkDPUit/s320/TR+Panama.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304944374358395842" /></a>When America's westward growth and emergence as a world power depended on a reliable seaway connecting the east coast with the west coast, Teddy Roosevelt went into action, unilaterally. Rather than let Congress debate the merits of the project he simply went ahead and built it.<br /><br /><b><i>"Should I let them debate this issue endlessly or go ahead with it and let them debate Teddy Roosevelt. They can debate me for the next four years and when they get tired of talking the canal will have already been built."</b></i><br /><br />President Roosevelt didn't build consensus. He didn't appoint a commission. He didn't invite the leaders of the House and Senate into the Oval Office for tea or make speeches about bipartisan teamwork. He built the Panama Canal--under budget and ahead of schedule.<br /><br />When Robert Moses received millions of federal dollars under the WPA he could have easily used it to pay off political cronies. <br /><br />After all, that's what the power brokers from other states did with the money. Instead, Moses built a state parks system that still endures, providing recreational opportunities and state revenues for nearly eighty years. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGyTFN7ujjig1DlOsuEMe-WhZIUgoEusYMDanBXAAaJQSZEJmst1Rj5nHNq2SW1K6R4XlYlZTgNDiroDab6Hg3g-1UNPcok-cChIC4KwsN-Wldjnozus-ryazjGLKvFXYWurCzi101C-K/s1600-h/Robert+Moses.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 190px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGyTFN7ujjig1DlOsuEMe-WhZIUgoEusYMDanBXAAaJQSZEJmst1Rj5nHNq2SW1K6R4XlYlZTgNDiroDab6Hg3g-1UNPcok-cChIC4KwsN-Wldjnozus-ryazjGLKvFXYWurCzi101C-K/s200/Robert+Moses.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304947176219878610" /></a>Moses also realized that the automobile was the engine that would drive economic expansion and built highways and bridges. <br /><br />In addition to building them, Robert Moses protected these massive infrastructure projects from the political hacks and parasites who would use the revenues not for the maintenance and expansion of the system, but to create political patronage and fuel corruption on a massive scale. <br /><br />Of course, since his death this is precisely what has happened. Today, with a round trip on the Verrazano Bridge costing $10 (with $9 going to the MTA) the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is still teetering on the brink of insolvency.<br /><br />Left to a commission or the state legislature we would still be debating the merits of a two-lane highway between Spring Valley and Albany or an upgrade of ferry service between Brooklyn and Staten Island.<br /><br />When Lee Iacocca took over a troubled Chrysler Motors he went to Congress with a personal pledge to turn the company around. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMOAemJi-Y0Rm1XSlyvEfKhBOWFn4Tb1_QWfBDH7QYCBIemOdy_rgs3otpuoqBRcLTSgP3CgvQOIyOff8_4ZXoEarO_rI1tJa6J61nCSDIcztyLXGfp4KhgmZ5xVpdPOvsn98JK4ns6wV/s1600-h/Lee+Iacocca.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 243px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMOAemJi-Y0Rm1XSlyvEfKhBOWFn4Tb1_QWfBDH7QYCBIemOdy_rgs3otpuoqBRcLTSgP3CgvQOIyOff8_4ZXoEarO_rI1tJa6J61nCSDIcztyLXGfp4KhgmZ5xVpdPOvsn98JK4ns6wV/s320/Lee+Iacocca.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304947677928119906" /></a>He made himself personally accountable and through the power of his leadership and his keen insights into the American car market he succeeded. <br /><br />It wasn't a management committee that brought Chrysler back from the dead, it was the leadership of Lee Iacocca.<br /><br />The Chrysler bailout was still a bad idea because it now provides the rationale for every conceivable use of taxpayer money to rescue banks, car companies and securities firms without any reasonable expectation that they can survive past next month. <br /><br />Can anyone who has witnessed the pathetic spectacle of the auto and financial executives appearing before Congrees honestly say that there's a Lee Iacocca among this gaggle of dimwits?<br /><br />And what has consensus building, bipartisanship and teamwork gotten us? <br /><br />For starters there's a stimulus bill with virtually no stimulus. President Obama let Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Bernie Sanders and Harry Reid write the bill and he has signed it into law without even pretending that this has anything to do with reviving the economy. And while our President speaks so eloquently about getting this economy going again immediately, unsurprisingly most of the Porkulus spending goes into effect next year when the best legislators money can buy are all up for reelection.<br /><br />Coincidence? <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgyUXX4enHPlPKqEbu8StOycWu8ICGoV6SjieLVa-2CQR0SI4ERNgAqc7Nk5Aku6pWbfrKpbNDNjY1DuUFfW-8r30brzBiSFEZtE_X3PHqSar7bXyYS8KyLtl_XMjkbqrbcDckyBSj4x3/s1600-h/Tiger+Truck.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 106px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgyUXX4enHPlPKqEbu8StOycWu8ICGoV6SjieLVa-2CQR0SI4ERNgAqc7Nk5Aku6pWbfrKpbNDNjY1DuUFfW-8r30brzBiSFEZtE_X3PHqSar7bXyYS8KyLtl_XMjkbqrbcDckyBSj4x3/s320/Tiger+Truck.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304940204699196706" /></a>So while America's leaders are using our grandchildren's money to pay off today's political debts, the Chinese<b>--yes the <font color=red>Red</font color> Chinese--</b>are using their trade surplus to build roads, bridges, nuclear power plants and their own worlwide automobile manufacturing industry.<br /><br />The Tiger Champ, designed and engineered in China, will be assembled in Oklahoma for sale in America and throughout the world. No doubt this is just the beginning. <br /><br />I wonder how home prices are faring in Guangzhou?Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-87249645469522912622009-01-28T11:45:00.000-05:002009-01-28T09:17:22.247-05:00The 67% Solution<marquee behavior="scroll" direction="left"><br /><font size=+1><b>Update! Update! Update! Update!</b></marquee></font size><br /><br />With the predictability of a lunar eclipse, the New York Times today features a front-page report headlined:<br /> <br /><b>Stimulus Plan Would Provide Flood of Aid to Education</b><br /><br />So now the taxpayers<b>--US--</B>will be coerced into partnership with failed and corrupt banks, failed, corrupt and stupid carmakers, and a failed, corrupt, stupid and arrogant education industry. The Times article is excerpted here.<br /><br /><i><font color=red>The proposed emergency expenditures on nearly every realm of education, including school renovation, special education, Head Start and grants to needy college students, would amount to the largest increase in federal aid since Washington began to spend significantly on education after World War II.<br /><br />Critics and supporters alike said that by its sheer scope, the measure could profoundly change the federal government’s role in education, which has traditionally been the responsibility of state and local government.</i></font color><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbBkROqBIhu-TwYsJ4ZMA7ndmprTqPQSwkIzJ6-fJgI3NGXvNG_c4pi6w2XQBUwIR2GTZ7bGBAh8ll1nLRt9md5wRwjDi7LNIo53ueFW1URnnXbX1YSLX9VLtu0hV0zfYE5qZYAkFWP1Y/s1600-h/Cracked+Road.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbBkROqBIhu-TwYsJ4ZMA7ndmprTqPQSwkIzJ6-fJgI3NGXvNG_c4pi6w2XQBUwIR2GTZ7bGBAh8ll1nLRt9md5wRwjDi7LNIo53ueFW1URnnXbX1YSLX9VLtu0hV0zfYE5qZYAkFWP1Y/s320/Cracked+Road.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289807140051405538" /></a>In this euphoric run-up to the ascension of The Oba-Messiah, all the usual suspects are lumbering toward the trough in order to slobber up the Fool's Gold now being minted by our leaders in Washington. <br /><br />Consistently neglected in boom years,<b> INFRASTRUCTURE</B> is now the Golden Calf of the 21st Century New Deal, worshipped by one and all in every level of government. <br /><br />Who can argue with it? Don't these worthy projects need funding? And aren't these the same public servants that have served us so well in good times and bad? <br /><br />In recent years here in New York City the tax dollars fueled by Wall Street profits cascaded into the city treasury and--as in boom times past--roads, bridges and transit systems deteriorated. <br /><br />Did any of our political leaders wail about our crumbling infrastructure?<br /><br /><b>"Sorry, bridges don't vote"</b> came the reply from the political class as they shoveled money to voting blocs and interest groups for the express purpose of remaining in office so they could shovel more money.<br /><br />Remember the gas tax? How about the bridge tolls that were supposed to benefit mass transit? Money, money, money with nothing to show. So now that stimulus is our government's most critical responsibility, the Fed is cranking up the printing presses.<br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfb4B5bpzVn3tVU-bUiiltljCdcF-yIAHzzbQDkEF0kt3BrEcPUmQAaUDoPJbWwneZ_xyt5YvdL3-85OtitVOnQs37mDfKbKNCwX0kYon8bUKFWGxOggkBglaHsAFcFEaBFj5PKT0_8f9K/s1600-h/Big+Dig.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 260px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfb4B5bpzVn3tVU-bUiiltljCdcF-yIAHzzbQDkEF0kt3BrEcPUmQAaUDoPJbWwneZ_xyt5YvdL3-85OtitVOnQs37mDfKbKNCwX0kYon8bUKFWGxOggkBglaHsAFcFEaBFj5PKT0_8f9K/s320/Big+Dig.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290020887196408050" /></a><b>Their mission:</b> inflate the money supply to pay workers to dig holes in the ground. <br /><br />Ten years from now when the next crisis hits we'll be treated to another round of bleating from those who advocate a commitment to infrastructure and we will have all forgotten about the previous roads and bridges scam. <br /><br />This should come as no surprise. <br /><br />Wasting money is what governments do and infrastructure is traditionally the way they do it. Nothing new here.<br /><br />But what of social welfare, healthcare and education? Surely these are noble endeavors worthy of national mobilization and they figure prominently in the new administration's stimulus plans. <br /><br />Useless infrastructure projects simply produce "Big Digs" and "Bridges to Nowhere" that impoverish our grandchildren. National commitments to worthy social and educational crusades typically result in stunted human development in the here and now. As an added kick in the ass, they prolong and entrench the delusions of the social engineers and educrats so that effective reform becomes impossible. <br /><br />As an example, let's take issue with a government initiative that is beyond reproach: Project Headstart. Headstart was born in 1965 during America's Great Society frenzy. Its mission and vision, to promote greater school readiness among under served children, was self-evidently noble. Predictably, as the Headstart Medusa spread its reptilian ganglia from city to city, suburb to suburb and state to state, community action groups sprang up, taking proactive steps to keep the federal dollars flowing. Also predictably, advocacy groups such as the National Headstart Association resisted all efforts to provide accountability and financial transparency. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJl8XqoepVS99uNe-rdoAAlbHW6YQNNd1MyZOcm6T7OMxJLZLzT0ZpLqgxHqLoyWz-LKPzI4a2y60WhFjFZHi7iyP7FOT5VBO0ctHTA5Fl-aTzpk01oVnTmTUAZl5047JHIjZbErFYmkL/s1600-h/Alpha+Blocks.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJl8XqoepVS99uNe-rdoAAlbHW6YQNNd1MyZOcm6T7OMxJLZLzT0ZpLqgxHqLoyWz-LKPzI4a2y60WhFjFZHi7iyP7FOT5VBO0ctHTA5Fl-aTzpk01oVnTmTUAZl5047JHIjZbErFYmkL/s200/Alpha+Blocks.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289809531512470114" /></a>Instead, public money was poured into a black hole while self-serving measurements designed to assess the <b><I>"SKILLS"</B></I> promoted by the early education movement showed that these skills developed at a more rapid rate. <br /><br />In effect, industry studies demonstrated convincingly that two-year-old children who were taught to place <b>"A"</b> blocks next to <b>"B"</b> blocks performed this valuable task better than two year olds who had not been conditioned like trained seals. More than forty years later, the beat goes on without a whisper of protest from those who know better but fear being branded as heartless. <br /><br />Year after year, independent studies designed to measure long-term educational efficacy consistently demonstrate that when tracked through the four stages of cognitive development, children enrolled in Headstart programs show no greater proficiency in formal operational thinking than children who have started school as late as seven years old.<br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ec42aFlkN9nKFDFMtfwQS_Bjdxsa0i9bCnY_VOUm-nFdX_WgS5FltR0KGQF4uJ-sD8RuKw8q7S_L8Ql5M_UTVRzxzdJQu670X90Kb3PipPXM4mmoglcHS6yyNK225drfOSnxa5yrU6UB/s1600-h/Piaget.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ec42aFlkN9nKFDFMtfwQS_Bjdxsa0i9bCnY_VOUm-nFdX_WgS5FltR0KGQF4uJ-sD8RuKw8q7S_L8Ql5M_UTVRzxzdJQu670X90Kb3PipPXM4mmoglcHS6yyNK225drfOSnxa5yrU6UB/s200/Piaget.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289809974480927714" /></a>Jean Piaget, the Swiss biologist, philospher and epistemologist first identified the four stages-- sensory/motor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational--more than seventy years ago.<br /><br />He also observed that by the end of secondary education about one third of all high school graduates were capable of formal operational thinking. Today, throughout the industrialized world, one third of all high school graduates demonstrate formal operational thinking.<br /><br />Does this mean that the decline in public education is only an illusion?<br /><br />I think not. It's true that the proportion of students capable of abstract thinking and symbolic logic has remained constant. However, the academic performance of the remaining 67% of high school graduates has declined precipitously. These are the <br />students who in past generations achieved a level of functional literacy which has all but disappeared.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DbZjdgiifO5rOKvnxCp_5GrO2Bm3zAf36Eab5iczBDkW0AdfJrB73SjYw-0h3MsleAYq7efykmsX_XmiD7zjuRp-QMu4W9Vjko3YYxh6ISCnqbf_q-akv-hUT_WSER2OAzg2YztU9-pX/s1600-h/CNC+Lathe.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DbZjdgiifO5rOKvnxCp_5GrO2Bm3zAf36Eab5iczBDkW0AdfJrB73SjYw-0h3MsleAYq7efykmsX_XmiD7zjuRp-QMu4W9Vjko3YYxh6ISCnqbf_q-akv-hUT_WSER2OAzg2YztU9-pX/s200/CNC+Lathe.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289810740632647954" /></a>Who is advocating for the great two thirds?<br /><br />Who will campaign for functional literacy?<br /><br />Moreover, will anyone have the courage to admit that America's continued prosperity depends on Americans who can operate a CNC lathe at least as much as it depends on Americans who can design a CNC lathe? <br /><br />In a matter of weeks the Fed will start pouring buckets of depreciating Greenbacks into the feeding trough. <br /><br />And you can be certain that the Early Education Pimps will be there, cheek-to-jowl with the porcine infrastructurists, their snouts buried deep in the stimulative slop. So take heart. There will be new roads and gleaming bridges and modern transit systems to speed Americans to work in this grand new epoch of 21st Century jobs. But traffic will be much lighter than normal if there aren't enough qualified Americans to fill these dream jobs.<br /><br />For today, though, the skies are brighter and the air is fresher and a brave new world is just beyond the horizon. God help the 67% who will be left behind.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-37202891750588595932009-01-28T05:23:00.000-05:002009-01-28T08:54:35.106-05:00Orfeo ed Euridice... or... I've Just Gone Through Hell for This Chick and She Still Won't Do What I Tell Her<font color=red><b><i>We went to see Orfeo again last week at the Met. We don't usually attend a performance a second time, especially so soon, but this is a breakthrough production so here goes.</b></i></font color><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXhXffbhC-88LIAPbSuojOhgillzoq_YKy9LY75nT-vxPtllTtCfkSaEL0WSqaAyjaGrDLpnYNuDKA_93_aWvCG6km5D-4gnAiaEsUkD3lYJz3Kqhju8dFyMiRJ6xFAxLs_J4-eFXuAd9/s1600-h/Mourning.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXhXffbhC-88LIAPbSuojOhgillzoq_YKy9LY75nT-vxPtllTtCfkSaEL0WSqaAyjaGrDLpnYNuDKA_93_aWvCG6km5D-4gnAiaEsUkD3lYJz3Kqhju8dFyMiRJ6xFAxLs_J4-eFXuAd9/s320/Mourning.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5068551809366173762" /></a>Proving once again that there's nothing new under the Sun, the Metropolitan Opera wound down its 2006/2007 season with a spectacular production of Christoph Willibald Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. <br /><br />For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Orpheus myth, here's a quick synopsis: <br /><br />Orfeo is mourning the death of his young wife, Euridice. But he sends everyone away because his grief is so overwhelming even their sincere and heartfelt support sinks him deeper into despair.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjra17YLOC1WScY24UPUCDKGBNlsGmenT5wnmn0tc0bNWVq2MGoX0Vx8xC0VACgJrTxtU6N9UXwBL12d7EtjF11VCmdEn9oP-wncmES7l2YdWwpdpsRG9YZ3xx4lq0RIAhFtBMJOWGIZokx/s1600-h/Cupid.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjra17YLOC1WScY24UPUCDKGBNlsGmenT5wnmn0tc0bNWVq2MGoX0Vx8xC0VACgJrTxtU6N9UXwBL12d7EtjF11VCmdEn9oP-wncmES7l2YdWwpdpsRG9YZ3xx4lq0RIAhFtBMJOWGIZokx/s200/Cupid.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5068552225978001490" /></a>Then along comes Cupid, yeah Cupid, suspended from a wire no less, who tells him that all he has to do is follow his beloved's spirit into the underworld and bring her back. <br /><br />But, she orders, he cannot look at her, or tell her why he can't look at her, until they're back home or she will die. And this time, for keepsies. <br /><br />Yada, yada, yada... he descends into Hell, gets past the Furies, finds his wife and they start home. <br /><br />"But why won't you look at me?," she asks, "Am I no longer beautiful?"<br /><br />"Just shut up and follow me." implores Orfeo, but she's relentless.<br /><br />"Is it because this dress makes me look fat?"<br /><br />"Have you found someone else? It's that little tart from Thessalonika, isn't it?"<br /><br />At this point the Missus turned to me and said "What a wimp. Why doesn't he just grab her by the scruff of the neck, tell to STFU and drag her out of there?"<br /><br />Why not indeed? But this is an opera. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbL6AOmS99CsiM5Ua07fSRAzzG6CpgC69PfBYyyKNw9RsI3F1an5vb32dZN_o5bs9Ad7SfQt0pysdmUWlOg6wfMJScj9322kr9iocsS0HbTqacYWSB77o80TF-a6bWSJPSreQX4Xi4OYq1/s1600-h/look.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbL6AOmS99CsiM5Ua07fSRAzzG6CpgC69PfBYyyKNw9RsI3F1an5vb32dZN_o5bs9Ad7SfQt0pysdmUWlOg6wfMJScj9322kr9iocsS0HbTqacYWSB77o80TF-a6bWSJPSreQX4Xi4OYq1/s320/look.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5068556911787321442" /></a><br />Finally, when he can't take her nagging anymore, he turns and looks her straight in the eyes and she promptly drops dead... again.<br /><br />At that point poor Orfeo collapses to his knees and wails: "Che faro senza Euridice" (what shall I do without Euridice). Well lets see... for starters I'll play golf, go fishing and drink as much beer as I want anytime I want. <br /><br />But no. <br /><br />All Orfeo has to do is threaten suicide and Cupid returns to snatch the dagger from his hand. Touched by his devotion Cupid brings Euridice back to life and she immediately starts nagging him to finish mowing the lawn. What oh what shall I do without Euridice? What oh what shall any of us do?<br /><br />Well, they live happily every after, have five kids and Orfeo gets a job playing in the house band at Euridice's father's catering hall. They are Greek, after all.<br /><br />And we can only speculate as to how Orfeo's life would have turned out if he had passed on Cupid's "descend into Hell" offer and just looked around for a younger woman. After a respectable mourning period, of course.<br /><br />But this is pure fiction. For the happily married among us, thankfully, Orfeo's tragedy is a prospect that few of us (gentlemen) will have to confront. All you have to do is glance at the obituary page or take a walk past your local assisted living center to recognize that we're not going to outlive our wives. It brings back memories of the old Alan King routine, "Survived by his wife." In fact, I'm sure that if we followed the Orpheus legend to its conclusion we'd find Euridice sitting in a beach chair in Boca Raton cashing Orfeo's pension checks from the Amalgamated Greek Lyre Players Union.<br /><br />Face it, the more things change, the more they stay the same.<br /><br />So when you're tempted to blurt out, "Why can't you do what I tell for once?", understand that this is a male/female dynamic that's been going on since there have been males and females. Just swallow those words before they jump out and get you into trouble because the odds that she'll do what you say are roughly equivalent to the chances that Alex Rodriguez will hit a bases-loaded homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth of the seventh game of the World Series while still wearing a Yankee uniform.<br /><br />It ain't happenin'.<br /><br />Next week: Wotan, the King of the Gods, chides his teenage daughter Brunnhilde for her disobediance. "You're grounded, young lady!", he shouts. Then he places her on a rock surrounded by a ring of fire for all eternity. Would that it were...Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-28531842976314902622009-01-22T10:34:00.000-05:002009-01-23T11:26:11.466-05:00I'm, Like Ya Know, AvailableCaroline Kennedy is breaking hearts again. <br /><br />Forced by personal reasons to inform Governor David Paterson that she is unable to serve her state and her country in the Senate, Princess Caroline will now retreat to her Eastside townhouse and suffer in private. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnUjBU9ywjrIFsnYXqAeDGKki3iBQ2TvXacw7t-rOeSMtqs9Y8D5lOzPKMGU2r8-2WA0V0aRjsq0clZpPiXRctMArk-vWQPjpoRnnW99LW4FmzVj8Gnqs0DqY-6YgsApc1ymUdtAk7NR1/s1600-h/Caroline.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnUjBU9ywjrIFsnYXqAeDGKki3iBQ2TvXacw7t-rOeSMtqs9Y8D5lOzPKMGU2r8-2WA0V0aRjsq0clZpPiXRctMArk-vWQPjpoRnnW99LW4FmzVj8Gnqs0DqY-6YgsApc1ymUdtAk7NR1/s320/Caroline.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294152840157387858" /></a>Unlike that other paragon of the New York City conspicuous-charity scene, Bernard Madoff, Ms. Kennedy will not be required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet. <br /><br />Her voluntary confinement, however, will be no less unplatable or reflective than that of Bunko Bernie, 21st Century Ponzi.<br /><br />Perhaps, however, now is the time for the rest of us to reflect on how shabbily Her Grace was treated. How dare we question her motives, her qualifications, her resolve, her... like, ya know... experientials, and most of all her... like, ya know... wantingness for the job. <br /><br />Poor dear. I suppose that she can go back to writing books, but I'm told that a member of the vast-right-wing conspiracy hid her box of Crayolas. <br /><br />Shame on us.<br /><br />But enough about the Lady from Hyannis.<br /><br />Let's get down to business. <br /><br />You're in a bind, Governor. The recent high-jinx in Illinois make it nearly impossible for you to sell this position at anywhere near what it's worth. Appointing another high-profile Democrat risks roiling the wrath of the House of Kennedy, especially that despicable ex-cousin in law. For the same reason, likely candidates are hiding under the couch in fear. <br /><br />So Governor, since there's so little time and so few potential takers...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTAuFjJZxy-jq72o22bO6NFwgjrlMp5yoNSOu2ue0rPGkzGJWaiV61KRV9d740Yh9GRlcWFxnJfqLfI5pjoLlQZjmMxq9n9yoP_OhX4o0Hpj4on_MgO61H14quAzo-v6WjB4pWQyHxBQ8/s1600-h/Firefly.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 182px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTAuFjJZxy-jq72o22bO6NFwgjrlMp5yoNSOu2ue0rPGkzGJWaiV61KRV9d740Yh9GRlcWFxnJfqLfI5pjoLlQZjmMxq9n9yoP_OhX4o0Hpj4on_MgO61H14quAzo-v6WjB4pWQyHxBQ8/s200/Firefly.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294148938411490482" /></a><b>I'm available.</b><br /><br />Here are the reasons why I am the perfect choice.<br /><br />I have no relevant experience.<br /><br />I have no appropriate training or education.<br /><br />My interpersonal and communication skills are, to be blunt, crude and a little creepy.<br /><br />Since I'm likely to be impeached or indicted before the next election you'll soon be able to sell the seat at the current market price. By next year that Blay-Go-Jevich stuff will have been long forgotten. <br /><br />And lastly, my father is a very jolly, very likable fellow.<br /><br />Oh, and did I mention... after paying my New York State tax bill I really, really, really need the money.<br /><br />So call now. This offer won't last forever.<br /><br />Yours truly,<br /><br />Rufus T. Firefly<br />Soon-to-be-Former President<br />Democratic Republic of FreedoniaJoseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-52924979203191327162009-01-22T08:25:00.001-05:002009-10-01T11:47:51.943-05:00Oh yeah... Thanks JetBlue<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFvZhg2if1GwgK15XNeLwN5a0sA6LOtGWeyO-EHLSYAb9y4QYllSKCTcc3g_I_TR6NXvDurs5NQj1mc3TvCVAwNzoS_k4f8hC44bE6o9D7cnmlugvxr6qt2ZHTGLctNEVt_9GyIep1Scf/s1600-h/T5+Close.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFvZhg2if1GwgK15XNeLwN5a0sA6LOtGWeyO-EHLSYAb9y4QYllSKCTcc3g_I_TR6NXvDurs5NQj1mc3TvCVAwNzoS_k4f8hC44bE6o9D7cnmlugvxr6qt2ZHTGLctNEVt_9GyIep1Scf/s400/T5+Close.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294130051987678594" /></a><br />Balancing the demands of shameless and brutal commerce with the impossible dreams of the preservationists, JetBlue has restored a measure of sanity into this cruel and sterile world. JetBlue resisted the temptation to raze Eero Saarinen's iconic Terminal 5 to make way for their new JFK complex. Just as significant, they also pushed back attempts to preserve the site as an obsolete museum piece.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0bqAvar9REd0LqpJHlNCGjuwy2xJdHK1UHnJ-osE3-YICZ3vphI-qSR8-j1rIaULqArWON31nR-zWPFPjG1_hg-cY58GKB-k9NUXDvRPHiaYaCUMeUtDUaqwgOLgLdZGtCCcz1Yjs4H9/s1600-h/T5+Design.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 306px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0bqAvar9REd0LqpJHlNCGjuwy2xJdHK1UHnJ-osE3-YICZ3vphI-qSR8-j1rIaULqArWON31nR-zWPFPjG1_hg-cY58GKB-k9NUXDvRPHiaYaCUMeUtDUaqwgOLgLdZGtCCcz1Yjs4H9/s320/T5+Design.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294115132526999682" /></a>The new JetBlue JFK terminal complex places Saarinen's masterpiece at the center of a beautiful, functional and, environmentally-friendly facility. <br /><br />Nearly 50 years ago, after the concrete was poured, Saarinen and his chief engineer stood underneath the structure as the scaffolding was being removed. <br /><br />When the last support was dismantled the architect paused for a moment, turned to his colleague and said:<br /><br /><b><i>"If this whole thing came came crashing down on my head right now, I would die a happy man."</b></i><br /><br />It didn't. <b><i>Firmitas, utilitas, venustas.</b></i><br /><br />Vitruvius would be proud.<br /><br />Bravo JetBlue.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-76071608005233924472009-01-21T11:48:00.000-05:002009-01-23T11:31:51.207-05:00Monuments & Anti-Monuments: The Death of Artistic VisionI was confronted by three strands of cultural connective tissue this week which portend the death of artistic expression. No, it has nothing to do with the First Amendment or government suppression. It has everything to do with the tearing down of greatness and the worship of mediocrity by the dominant cultural elite. <br /><br />First, Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport.<br /><br />Second, the Zurich Opera's production of Richard Wagner's Parsifal.<br /><br />And third, that gaping hole in the ground where New York's World Trade Center once stood. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynnvP0PfJHq6yUAtpDK8e8yXm5ejwdR72tETdI7-L4KsEWF-uMHZck__HMGjBPffIbUNbXOX7WIj6-oPxjjMSjzYgf6dLHoxL4Fi268RpjTQoAV4XzKCkoSclG8ULJh8QqEGnUaqeA-0j/s1600-h/Terminal+5+Color.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 161px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynnvP0PfJHq6yUAtpDK8e8yXm5ejwdR72tETdI7-L4KsEWF-uMHZck__HMGjBPffIbUNbXOX7WIj6-oPxjjMSjzYgf6dLHoxL4Fi268RpjTQoAV4XzKCkoSclG8ULJh8QqEGnUaqeA-0j/s200/Terminal+5+Color.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293722442405207314" /></a>Terminal 5 was and is an architectural wonder. <br /><br />Designed by Eero Saarinen nearly 50 years ago it stands as a soaring monument to flight and mankind's unquenchable desire to reach for the heavens. <br /><br />Unfortunately, Terminal 5 was also the site and the title of an ill-fated <b><i>"Art Exhibit"</b></i> in 2005. <br /><br />Organized by the Generation Y nouveau dilettante Rachel K. Ward, Terminal 5 featured works of quackery that spoke directly to those to whom they speak directly--folks who would not know a work of art from a hole in the ground. <br /><br />In fact, these imbeciles often worship holes in the ground as breakthrough works of art. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmH9QpA2XytpUTywAJMj9EJXZmW55aEdQ-ekxHnMpR7wBJqg63oNr2QCFjxtTzCB5Xm_S3TY4jBt4GsVgAzcHxaX4iFhPdTReASE8j1vhfWLIFUGWXBIY1KswMNuijYS2eARipsRGvq-M/s1600-h/Beecroft+2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmH9QpA2XytpUTywAJMj9EJXZmW55aEdQ-ekxHnMpR7wBJqg63oNr2QCFjxtTzCB5Xm_S3TY4jBt4GsVgAzcHxaX4iFhPdTReASE8j1vhfWLIFUGWXBIY1KswMNuijYS2eARipsRGvq-M/s320/Beecroft+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293732433990559298" /></a>Case in point, Vanessa Beecroft whose naked narcissism is hailed far and wide by adoring acolytes who admire naked narcissism. <br /><br />In addition to the Beecroft masterpiece, which was never shown, there was a square carpet made of padlocks, a red carpet leading nowhere, and a breathtaking message board with nothing on it. <br /><br />Look out Michelangelo, the giants of 21st Century art have you in their sights.<br /><br />Bottom Line: The opening night gala turned out to be a closing night disaster.<br /><br />Why?<br /><br />Because the scions of the New York art scene descended upon Kennedy Airport, got drunk, trashed the terminal, vomited on the floor and added their own personal artistic touches--in the form of spray painted graffiti--to Terminal 5's iconic white curved walls.<br /><br />Then there's Parsifal. Now, I must confess that I am a theater throwback. When I buy a ticket and take my seat I willingly suspend my disbelief. Same thing at home when I pop the NetFlix DVD into the player. So if I'm watching a story that's supposed to take place in a forest in the Pyrenees I don't mind if the trees are made of papier mache and the rocks wobble a bit at the slightest touch. <br /><br /><b>IT'S THEATER. IT'S MAKE BELIEVE. GET OVER IT!</B><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFjllRE2KTg8MShTVldRbrCZ-dDQGmfGh-JvcFdhdlsxpUzUhvEDnTJPuzJJPITOb1j5ahpLAvXNzIUvFVG7gYZdZa1xWR-t-H3Q_InSiMhDaPt6JBEDJTTE6o2fWYUvlHISim7K9hRbk/s1600-h/Lohengrin.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFjllRE2KTg8MShTVldRbrCZ-dDQGmfGh-JvcFdhdlsxpUzUhvEDnTJPuzJJPITOb1j5ahpLAvXNzIUvFVG7gYZdZa1xWR-t-H3Q_InSiMhDaPt6JBEDJTTE6o2fWYUvlHISim7K9hRbk/s320/Lohengrin.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293732795307196178" /></a>Not today. No, now we're treated to theater pieces designed and produced by people who hate theater. <br /><br />So the clearing in the forest becomes a minimalist classroom with abstract furniture. <br /><br />The Grail Knights are now represented by a professor in dusty frock coat and his slobbering pupils. <br /><br />The wounded King is a pathetic wimp in a bloody white leisure suit being wheeled around on a stand-up hospital gurney. <br /><br />Thankfully, as with Robert Wilson's putrid interpretation of Lohengrin, there's always the music. Close your eyes, drink in the monumental score and let your imagination run wild. It's better than watching the visual atrocity on the stage.<br /><br />Which brings us to the hole in the ground in downtown New York.<br /><br />As it stands, or more accurately as it doesn't stand, the World Trade Center site is an Al Qaeda victory monument. Every day that the site stands vacant is an expression to the world that Osama bin Laden has won the battle. Politicians debate. Interests groups demand a seat at the negotiating table. Construction workers and heavy equipment lay idle. And the overwhelming majority of Americans wonder...<br /><br /><B>WHEN WILL THE GIGANTIC SCAR IN THE NEW YORK SKYLINE BE HEALED?</B><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVsWf7g_KyOc49ZGngiwQRRibReDh5i9Iald0Hqa2as-BRddES0gPJjVddqEQva2Isb6yM4X-Prp8I3yWvyD-zBgaY5fLABDdZJcrd6u5G3WmKBAPd0FQmgbKdIbroxy7c3nf2Hy0CGb2/s1600-h/Calatrava.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVsWf7g_KyOc49ZGngiwQRRibReDh5i9Iald0Hqa2as-BRddES0gPJjVddqEQva2Isb6yM4X-Prp8I3yWvyD-zBgaY5fLABDdZJcrd6u5G3WmKBAPd0FQmgbKdIbroxy7c3nf2Hy0CGb2/s200/Calatrava.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293738458654179586" /></a>There was great hope that the completion of the Calatrava Transit Hub would be the impetus to get the project moving. <br /><br />Now, even this beautiful, functional and environmentally innovative project has hit a logjam.<br /><br />Superstar architect Santiago Calatrava, who has a reputation for being able to exceed an unlimited budget, has created a magnificent structure that actually pays homage to Saarinen and adds 21st century technological innovations that will make it the greenest facility of its kind in the world. <br /><br />However, cost overruns along with the anti-monument thinking of small-minded bureaucrats have conspired to halt construction.<br /><br />The excuse du jour is the cost, but modifications to the mechanics of the facility can bring the budget in line without changing the integrity of the design. It's much more likely that the design will be trashed in favor of a transit hub that looks less expensive and costs twice as much. This isn't a unique paradox. I cannot count the times that a client has told me to design an event that <b><i>"doesn't look expensive."</b></i><br /><br />On his home-building blog Tedd Benson recently invoked Vitruvius, the Roman architect. <br /><br />A building, said Vitruvius, must be strong, it must be functional and it must be beautiful<b><i>--firmitas, utilitas, venustas.</b></i> <br /><br />Strong is easy. Functional is a bit more challenging. Beautiful? Artistic? Inspiring? These are qualities that are, today, all but impossible. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYFPQPdqraPA_eGR_Z4y-2QlrNlEj-CEkUnOcw18i47WpywhvgGIAMi1CmC6SWs8as3atXm-GOgU7T2s1t6Ea_qClnoUax62Usx3sVY4_lcMCts6FuPR77zEWI_ugNl1YjnwaUTsJGrCJ/s1600-h/Toohy.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 151px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYFPQPdqraPA_eGR_Z4y-2QlrNlEj-CEkUnOcw18i47WpywhvgGIAMi1CmC6SWs8as3atXm-GOgU7T2s1t6Ea_qClnoUax62Usx3sVY4_lcMCts6FuPR77zEWI_ugNl1YjnwaUTsJGrCJ/s200/Toohy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293741657902448754" /></a>Today, the anti-monumentalist, anti-artistry movement represented by Ward, Beecroft, Wilson, et. al. worships the puny, the plain, the unimaginative. <br /><br />In this day and age the Philistines no longer have to tear down the shrines. <br /><br />They have simply enshrined mediocrity.<br /><br />As was stated so clearly and so cynically by Ellsworth Monkton Toohey in The Fountainhead:<br /><br /><b><i>"A man more able than his brothers insults them by implication."</b></i><br /><br />Heaven forbid that great thinkers, artists and builders insult those with small intellect, small imagination and small ambitions. <br /><br />Is this the death of artistic expression in everyday life?<br /><br />Maybe not, but it's definitely on life support.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-12762077516236156612009-01-16T14:32:00.000-05:002009-01-16T15:08:53.091-05:00If This is What They're Thinking About...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IZdKc0G0o4Zp9Ni_OnwNb4xNVrLrccUpcwP-p2HaNKr4T0xPkmjZDmnxRy0NzEELLMezRMbeA8YSC_llwkEQ6Va72AY64ZRVXKG-5qzfknhgDtz2SeNhps8pITBK50tHjxjTJJls5osv/s1600-h/Cuomo.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IZdKc0G0o4Zp9Ni_OnwNb4xNVrLrccUpcwP-p2HaNKr4T0xPkmjZDmnxRy0NzEELLMezRMbeA8YSC_llwkEQ6Va72AY64ZRVXKG-5qzfknhgDtz2SeNhps8pITBK50tHjxjTJJls5osv/s200/Cuomo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291983501498552594" /></a><br />Thought you'd all get a kick out of this.<br /><br />Just got a letter from the District Court of Nassau County, Criminal Term. Since most of you already know that I'm a hardened criminal, I'm not giving away any secrets. <b><br /><br />I did it, and I'm glad!</b> <br /><br />Yes, I exceeded the 5MPH speed limit on my jetski in Freeport Creek last summer. After a desperate struggle I was finally subdued and served with five bogus summonses, all of which (except for the speeding) were immediately dismissed. <br /><br />Rather than spend another full day sitting on the <b>"Group W"</b> bench with slumlords and drunk drivers, I capitulated and paid the fine.<br /><br />Now, the criminal justice system here in NYS is checking up to make sure that I'm remaining on the straight and narrow.<br /><br />The letter reminds me that I (the defendant) shall abide by the following conditions of conduct:<br /><br /><b>- Avoid injurious or vicious habits.<br /><br />- Refrain from frequenting unlawful or disreputable places or consorting with disreputable persons.<br /><br />- Work faithfully at a suitable employment or faithfully pursue a course of study or of vocational training that will train me for suitable employment.</b><br /><br />There's more, but you get the idea. My personal favorites are the requirements to seek psychiatric treatment and make restitution of the fruits of my crime. <br /><br />It's heart warming to know that the State of New York is using all their considerable resources to protect the citizens of the Empire State from dangerous marauders who would ride their jetskis at 10MPH in a 5MPH zone.<br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-nLm87UbdiNjMYaVCLbHF_Tgwrok_6Wm_7KoJfmm1oPQvjLOElBCPNZg7Q4qiNlsy2_dJSnu5FCaAscfIF-b8OXeRtdoRL5rKUwKanQiOMumlR95tsy2JEmP0vsDXPXQyOLZzIIg4jqu/s1600-h/Waverunner.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 190px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-nLm87UbdiNjMYaVCLbHF_Tgwrok_6Wm_7KoJfmm1oPQvjLOElBCPNZg7Q4qiNlsy2_dJSnu5FCaAscfIF-b8OXeRtdoRL5rKUwKanQiOMumlR95tsy2JEmP0vsDXPXQyOLZzIIg4jqu/s200/Waverunner.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291984647995334706" /></a>Now we can all sleep easy.<br /><br />Perhaps our state's highest law enforcement official, <b>Saint Cuomo the Younger</b>, should coordinate an undercover operation at the new Waverunner attraction in the Nathan's gameroom.<br /><br />Looks like a career criminal to me.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-46302593935498804572009-01-13T11:38:00.000-05:002009-01-13T21:16:10.210-05:00Prudence and the Pill<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshxG3j6iNVBQc1mVylkcv1jaYuHdqGDSDqmJyUN2w7NKVhkpSxwHd4xwaeMfxS5aRxEz0GFaMHUvCD4ZECMP15kidn1zfRL6Kq7MRS1wK8jsG3XidTD8dSBRM2M31t1Y3NBEVluXbVWLn/s1600-h/Prudence.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshxG3j6iNVBQc1mVylkcv1jaYuHdqGDSDqmJyUN2w7NKVhkpSxwHd4xwaeMfxS5aRxEz0GFaMHUvCD4ZECMP15kidn1zfRL6Kq7MRS1wK8jsG3XidTD8dSBRM2M31t1Y3NBEVluXbVWLn/s320/Prudence.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290963307240447522" /></a>Everybody loves a rollicking British bedroom farce.<br /><br />In the 1960s sexual taboos were called into question, popular culture was in a transitional stage, and David Niven and Deborah Kerr starred in a harmless bit of cinematic fluff entitled: <br /><br /><b>Prudence and the Pill.</b> <br /><br />In keeping with the cultural imperative of the decade, "The Pill" of the title was looked upon as a Magic Bullet that could shield man and woman, young and old, from every manner of irresponsible behavior. As in all farce comedies, things go awry, birth control pills and aspirins get switched and mother and daughter wind up pregnant. A laugh riot.<br /><br />Today we have another version of Prudence and the Pill.<br /><br />Prudence is the sense of responsibility and discipline demonstrated by the great majority of Americans who live within their means, work hard and pay their bills. <br /><br />The pill, in this case, comes in the form of government bailouts for the idiots and incompetents that have spent the last four decades running their old-economy enterprises into the depths of Hell. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6q34yNR2_uO__M_Uvt0aC4MyEvmxvD1oOkBedu0q2BHYOa3T8ZrTo3Xgzp2OJ7DcIgvcnLfnF6kEyP-JpDYfpdy3a5CK_qiaFBJt3t9e7qnqkuw7RnzLtssLTOTmou6Ye8kXTl_hQhtpS/s1600-h/Mozilo.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6q34yNR2_uO__M_Uvt0aC4MyEvmxvD1oOkBedu0q2BHYOa3T8ZrTo3Xgzp2OJ7DcIgvcnLfnF6kEyP-JpDYfpdy3a5CK_qiaFBJt3t9e7qnqkuw7RnzLtssLTOTmou6Ye8kXTl_hQhtpS/s200/Mozilo.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290959478746942818" /></a>These dinosaurs have no logical or rationale basis for their continued existence beyond the "too-big-to-fail" argument. <br /><br />But what would happen if we were to turn that "too-big-too-fail" excuse on its ear? <br /><br />What if we were to determine that a money-losing enterprise was too big to continue on life support? Now there's an idea. <br /><br />Keeping General Motors, AIG and CitiGroup alive prevents younger more innovative companies from jumping in and filling the void. Pouring money into moribund Detroit manufacturers, irresponsible banks and predatory mortgage companies rewards bad judgement and forces those of us that bought cars and houses we could afford, after saving enough for a down payment, to subsidize those who refused to defer gratification.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8SC7tomoHANk-FJurA8WvxY_uJQrcOl_zSStEj16y_X5dLSg9DV7-VXOM_Bov5qlSPMyMvfJPuh02e8gRGs05ZKeWkbOtyrZ8iXlduK8iKECCXKbNPbIkqpEPP0PCZg31khhtFuysLRWd/s1600-h/GM.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8SC7tomoHANk-FJurA8WvxY_uJQrcOl_zSStEj16y_X5dLSg9DV7-VXOM_Bov5qlSPMyMvfJPuh02e8gRGs05ZKeWkbOtyrZ8iXlduK8iKECCXKbNPbIkqpEPP0PCZg31khhtFuysLRWd/s200/GM.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290959992319638930" /></a>It's exasperating. Time after time, our government steps in to save the fools from themselves. The result is that every well-run enterprise in America is placed at a severe competitive disadvantage. <br /><br />Worse, they are forced through penal taxation to fund their competitors' idiocy.<br /><br />And it seems that this folly will never end.<br /><br />Instead of our prudence being rewarded we're forced to swallow the biggest and bitterest pill our government has ever served up.<br /><br />And how will future generations look upon this sorry period in American history?<br /><br />Will this this episode resemble a British farce?<br /><br />I think it's much more likely that the ending of this drama will be <b>An American Tragedy.</b>Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-78964875342878031152009-01-01T04:56:00.000-05:002009-01-01T10:02:23.438-05:00Faces in the Crowd<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdSAlEF7qg9Cgxs3JRm4hIQxIerj0R0-QnOgcfwH-IuKP32A5HjRUk0g57Ig7M_6Y-nKUgRglry0Baj83NS72sANFcpt2KlmoE96EDvm1yqTEAF9B0ROVlI6ncsgE05G1sYSsvHy6KLmz/s1600-h/Times+Square.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdSAlEF7qg9Cgxs3JRm4hIQxIerj0R0-QnOgcfwH-IuKP32A5HjRUk0g57Ig7M_6Y-nKUgRglry0Baj83NS72sANFcpt2KlmoE96EDvm1yqTEAF9B0ROVlI6ncsgE05G1sYSsvHy6KLmz/s320/Times+Square.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286336924062494130" /></a>We toyed with the idea of ringing in the New Year at Times Square, but that was a few days ago when the forecast called for mild temperatures and light winds. <br /><br />As the days and hours ticked off and the forecast changed from mild to brutal, the notion of a quiet New Year's Eve at home became more and more appealing. <br /><br />Besides, with the kids planning their own acivities, staying close to the phone and not trapped in a Bloomberg pen seemed more prudent.<br /><br />Then, early yesterday L'il Angel developed a cough, sore throat and congestion so it was off to the doctor. No strep. That was good news and the doctor said that going out with her friends was not prohibited. I think he's as scared of her as I am. But when the time came, she said that she wanted to spend New Year's Eve with her family. What a crock. So Matt invited his friends over to our house and we all celebrated the coming of 2009 in front of the TV. First it was the Twilight Zone Marathon, then the celebration from Times Square.<br /><br />Did I say celebration?<br /><br />We've been to New Year's Eve at Times Square prior to the Bloomberg restructuring of the iconic celebration. It was quintessential New York--a raucous, spontaneous and chaotic affair. You could be a child again. No rules. Total anonymity. Anarchy... <b>PRICELESS!</B><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LeCeYs2D5p1lxJ7zrvnnafetJFx-htf2obCLgP55fJwqXQsjUjg0-CM4J-C0dqmjKkjcEPzCsyakhKqaytkNE16bR8Xc8dXHeq7elB9HByKUna9DDi_VF4xAUXS0yLsTn948s4Sxoxdn/s1600-h/Times+Square+2009.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LeCeYs2D5p1lxJ7zrvnnafetJFx-htf2obCLgP55fJwqXQsjUjg0-CM4J-C0dqmjKkjcEPzCsyakhKqaytkNE16bR8Xc8dXHeq7elB9HByKUna9DDi_VF4xAUXS0yLsTn948s4Sxoxdn/s200/Times+Square+2009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286339387940660162" /></a>But now? You have to get to the venue by the appointed time. <br /><br />You must stand in the designated place. <br /><br />Once there, you cannot move about or wander past the barricades. <br /><br />Participants in this atrocity are given party favors, told when to cheer and invited to sing along with Lionel Richie. I know it was Lionel Richie because they told me. After multiple plastic surgeries you have to take their word for it.<br /><br /><b>"Wave your blue balloons. Jump in place. Sing along."</b><br /><br />It's not New Year's Eve, it's a Bar Mitzvah. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PsvdbIESi3GFWyAsJC6Lzvpu05p_0x8UbCuLInVR5RLF5uGkfqX8L8NPOHvTKeDKUZoz075jWvgZh90L6sAMa20IlWzzu8UfNRxEJCJdq6ZIlJJN7UlBj56PFGvY7vXWxlHN0vT9LX56/s1600-h/pussycat.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 154px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PsvdbIESi3GFWyAsJC6Lzvpu05p_0x8UbCuLInVR5RLF5uGkfqX8L8NPOHvTKeDKUZoz075jWvgZh90L6sAMa20IlWzzu8UfNRxEJCJdq6ZIlJJN7UlBj56PFGvY7vXWxlHN0vT9LX56/s200/pussycat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286338839790197746" /></a>And worst of all, in this Brave New World the stars of the show aren't the anonymous revelers drawn to the Hub of the World from every nation on Earth. <br /><br />No, our senses and sensibilities are assaulted by the giants of American culture... Carson Daly, Kellie Pickler... <b>The Pussycat Dolls!</b><br /><br />Spare me.<br /><br />Happy New Year. <br /><br />Now let's switch back to The Twilight Zone.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-6964350225061511372008-12-30T22:26:00.000-05:002009-01-08T20:53:33.034-05:00It's Time to Put the Fun Back in Dysfunctional<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IxXbRBvfZuYl9I6_GmPEbxhoyikfu7Y0do0SnX1C-BPh94BLNIvDUS6G-D65TDJIDHgKM-ppv7SmEhy5DIY-yOxWouV1kyILHKOpUGzAE3PrGfV7ODz0nXn_pmF7wrU719jlhsjZ7_2m/s1600-h/Harvey.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 233px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IxXbRBvfZuYl9I6_GmPEbxhoyikfu7Y0do0SnX1C-BPh94BLNIvDUS6G-D65TDJIDHgKM-ppv7SmEhy5DIY-yOxWouV1kyILHKOpUGzAE3PrGfV7ODz0nXn_pmF7wrU719jlhsjZ7_2m/s320/Harvey.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285743909388993506" /></a>Several years ago the New York Times ran a Sunday Magazine profile of several young and successful TV sitcom writers. They spoke of their therapy sessions, their shoes and their families. <br /><br /><B>"You can't write for television"</b> said one comedy writer, <b>"if you didn't grow up in a dysfunctional family."</b> <br /><br />Okay, I admit it. I love oddball families.<br /><br />There were the Dowds, the extended family of Harvey the six foot rabbit. In You Can't Take it With You the Sycamores took in every misfit in town, even the wealthy son of the bigshot banker who was trying to evict them.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlrc2b6x4WQCw-d2s7EKwnAMOhIqqW2t3VsTmgZ4sbezELgMKZOwQ0Byue0_o7gRhOx_WB_KSoK_9s3FcGVLvXzsf_END7WQ9HZ7QJ0T3xnx2Tsz70a_NpEOo9XqtwvoGO0I88hnMYzdn/s1600-h/Arsenic.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlrc2b6x4WQCw-d2s7EKwnAMOhIqqW2t3VsTmgZ4sbezELgMKZOwQ0Byue0_o7gRhOx_WB_KSoK_9s3FcGVLvXzsf_END7WQ9HZ7QJ0T3xnx2Tsz70a_NpEOo9XqtwvoGO0I88hnMYzdn/s200/Arsenic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285739871938011970" /></a>And of course my personal favorites, those lovable Brewster sisters of Arsenic and Old Lace who buried their problems in the basement. <br /> <br />Did anyone who went to the theater ever believe that these were authentic slices of American life? <br /><br />Of course not. The Dowds, the Sycamores, the Brewsters were all fictional. And that's the point.<br /><br />So, for anyone here with a sensitive nature or a fragile ego, cover your eyes, ears, nose and throat. What you are about to read will shock and amaze you. It may revolt you. It may even enlighten you, although I doubt it. The reason is that my conclusion is so basic and so self evident that for those that understand the concept it's as clear as crystal. For those that don't it's as dense as treakle and ten times more unpatatable.<br /><br />Here goes. You have been warned.<br /><br /><strong>There is no such thing as a dysfunctional family. </strong><br /><br />You read it right. There is no such thing as a dysfunctional family. It's a fiction. What we have today is a pathetic legion of dysfunctional people, aided and abetted by an army of psychologists and social workers, who have slithered out from under their beds to blame those that love them most for all their problems and difficulties. <br /><br />It's nearly impossible to miss the symptoms. <br /><br />Bad habits become addictions.<br /><br />Anti-social behavior is defined as a public health problem.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAN0vmoZNLg4wqTMDyrGGcVH888uIppSRGc6ctYMDlYfEe0Qf-OCTqgRDcsy8yjhGjy8KIUcna2cpke1XK-jxU_p2yzJRx6cUPnvUJ5miTi0vRc02-yUyjbh71KFcW2o6HQ-hJvd4V8YrP/s1600-h/Dys+family.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAN0vmoZNLg4wqTMDyrGGcVH888uIppSRGc6ctYMDlYfEe0Qf-OCTqgRDcsy8yjhGjy8KIUcna2cpke1XK-jxU_p2yzJRx6cUPnvUJ5miTi0vRc02-yUyjbh71KFcW2o6HQ-hJvd4V8YrP/s320/Dys+family.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285743296042196130" /></a>Unpleasantness is defined as honesty and "speaking my mind."<br /><br />And all personal failures are ascribed to an all-consuming but nebulous family pathology, i.e. dysfunction.<br /><br />So, not only do these dysfunctional people make life a hell on Earth for family and friends, they also turn the mirror toward the wall and blame everyone around them for their own shorcomings. Worse, these losers have now reached a critical mass as the designers of the popular culture. They are eroding our objective sense of right and wrong, human and inhuman, functional and dysfunctional.<br /><br />When I turn the key to start my car and hear nothing but a faint clicking sound, I can be fairly certain that my battery is dysfunctional. I don't blame the entire automobile industry for inflicting dysfunctional cars on an innocent and unsuspecting public. Then, when I notice that I had left the lights on the night before, as a relatively sentient being I blame the occasional dysfunction in my own brain rather than any defect in the battery.<br /><br />Not so for the dysfunctional person. <br /><br /><strong>"That battery should know that I'm imperfect. It should recognize my weaknesses. It should adjust and accomodate. It's that damn battery that doesn't understand me!"</strong> <br /><br />As Elwood P. Dowd told us so eloquently, <b>"In this life you have to be oh so clever or oh so pleasant. I decided to be oh so pleasant."</b><br /><br />It seems that the designers of today's popular culture have decided that they want to be oh so unpleasant. Tragedy is, there's not a thing that's the least bit clever about any of it.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197282005094180032.post-27008455995880207852008-12-27T12:01:00.001-05:002009-12-23T06:15:34.234-05:00A Milestone<b><font color=red>December 27th, 2008</b></font color><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioI4Luejtr133tCpq7Y-oG2YiYgBQP3kilR7yDIp1NkwACx177hjXlUcJ0o1O8L27CUQdBDXnhA8H1jF11DF-pr6cEPbIsHkbVCuqxO4JjVwCTTJPC7xTnfgBiywLSUSya__RVaSHk0bGi/s1600-h/Myopathy.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 173px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioI4Luejtr133tCpq7Y-oG2YiYgBQP3kilR7yDIp1NkwACx177hjXlUcJ0o1O8L27CUQdBDXnhA8H1jF11DF-pr6cEPbIsHkbVCuqxO4JjVwCTTJPC7xTnfgBiywLSUSya__RVaSHk0bGi/s320/Myopathy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284530163998971522" /></a>Today marks an important milestone for me and the fact that I'm here writing this blog entry on this dreary afternoon is the proof. On December 27th, 2003 I was diagnosed with tacchycardia-induced cardiomyopathy which caused severe damage to the left side of my heart and a 35% loss of cardiac function. On that day, the odds of me being here to tell this story stood at less than 50/50. <br /><br />So... it's time for a little history.<br /><br />I've never been in really good shape. Even during my high-school days when I played baseball and ran track, I would often cross the finish line after a sprint and collapse. In the past twenty years, other than running around with the kids I've done virtually no exercise. <br /><br />Then, about six years ago I started having dizzy spells. Doctors couldn't find a cause, other than thallysemia or "stress and anxiety", and it went on for a year. More than once the attacks were so bad I had to go to the Emergency Room. Early that same year I cracked up my motorcycle and broke my collarbone and four ribs. (Doctors had no problem with this diagnosis) <br /><br />After the crash I spent two months sleeping in a recliner (out of necessity) and another four months spending most of my time in that same recliner (out of de-motivation). <br /><br />Finally I saw a doctor who diagnosed atrial fibrillation. The good news: A calcium-channel blocker cured the problem in about a day. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5hbHdLj_NnCKQmGdcJdd4lH1-RS8E-6_-z-14PjEI2APnDWHRAVAXgwoGhxHBs7VlJ3pHHTlOAO0wU1AnPxi9zMTJQpo2aSGEX_0dnDb_DaFpWfQvqEFhp4VRK3p4ebXLpHOFGd65fTn/s1600-h/Echo+Bad.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5hbHdLj_NnCKQmGdcJdd4lH1-RS8E-6_-z-14PjEI2APnDWHRAVAXgwoGhxHBs7VlJ3pHHTlOAO0wU1AnPxi9zMTJQpo2aSGEX_0dnDb_DaFpWfQvqEFhp4VRK3p4ebXLpHOFGd65fTn/s200/Echo+Bad.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284530701000176050" /></a>The bad news: I had 35% loss of cardiac function (cardiomyopathy) on the left side of my heart. Just my luck, it’s the type of problem that kills 50% of patients within 5 years. <br /><br />When I asked the cardiologist if my heart damage could be reversed he looked up at the ceiling and said that it's been known to happen... in some patients... some of the time...<br /><br />I sensed immediately that he was blowing smoke up my shorts. <br /><br />Dr. Zaman told me to go on a light exercise program so I bought a treadmill and a Total Gym. Good news again. After about five months my heart function started to rebound slowly. Little by little I was up to 75%... 85%... <br /><br />In a year I was back up to 95%. Then 100% in less than two years. But the heart damage was still there. <br /><br />Still, I felt as if I had been reborn. The A-Fib episode gave me all the motivation I needed and I resolved that I was not going to make the same mistakes (no exercise) again. I had been 175 pounds, 149 cholesterol and normal blood pressure for the last 30 years, but <b>I WAS SQUISHY</B>. <br /><br />The treadmill and the Total Gym worked fine, up to a point. Then I hit a plateau.<br /><br />So I decided to increase the intensity. Working late one night I took a break and turned on the TV. As I was flipping through the dial I stopped on a fitness infomercial and made the first, and only, impulse purchase of my life.<br /><br />Soon the DVDs, resistance bands and pull-up bar arrived and I started the program. Starting easy I went through the first twelve weeks, felt better and looked better. Then, during an echocardiogram Dr. Zaman said that there was something curious going on. <br /><br /><b>"Your cardiomyopathy has improved"</b> he said. <br /><br />That's when I told him that I had started an extreme exercise program.<br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNRcfYhLTqoRGOyUNxsVdATNobyoAtqUHOoXNWxl7jSdC877fCsuCdNiC0hKZj9FUvjdyVZLyLqsSVk8stOU9qewxeFo8_r0OI4iYpRipm0sB3_NgO_43fMXWV2NKZfDCNamM2NgpHMnm/s1600-h/echo+good.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNRcfYhLTqoRGOyUNxsVdATNobyoAtqUHOoXNWxl7jSdC877fCsuCdNiC0hKZj9FUvjdyVZLyLqsSVk8stOU9qewxeFo8_r0OI4iYpRipm0sB3_NgO_43fMXWV2NKZfDCNamM2NgpHMnm/s200/echo+good.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284530982407799842" /></a>I was supposed to consult with my doctor before starting, but I was sure he would advise against it. That was more than a year ago.<br /><br />But there's more. <br /><br />My last two echocardiograms showed no evidence of cardiomyopathy. <br /><br />I asked the doctor if he had ever seen this before and he told me that in 37 years practicing cardiology he has had five patients who have improved their cardiac function, but only one patient who has completely reversed a cardiomyopathy.<br /><br />Guess who?<br /><br /><b>BTW:</b> The fibrillation was caused by a defect in the electrical impulses to the heart muscle, not any problem with weight, cholesterol or blood pressure. <br /><br />My advice: If any of you have experienced a flushed feeling, rapid heartbeat and dizzyness don't take the doctor's word that it's stress or anxiety. Stress is the modern day equivalent of evil spirits. When they don't know what's wrong with you they blame stress.<br /><br />Get yourself checked for atrial fibrillation. It's the most common and undiagnosed form of cardiac arrythmia and there are modern methods available now to treat it.<br /><br />Hope this helps.Joseph Martinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02161129577000322246noreply@blogger.com2