Today's Tids !ssue 2,182
Opening Stuff
The brilliant red Sky; The brisk cool air; The soft, small waves below my feet breaking quietly on the shore; As if not to disturb a world still sleeping soundly. It’s too peaceful, I thought. It’s too perfect, I knew. Why ruin this serenity of nature with the anger of Tids? Nah!
Highly regarded Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni once said “Scientific man is already on the moon, and yet we are still living with the moral concepts of Homer.” So? Mich seemed to have a problem with rigid morality in general. Many of his quotes express similar abhorrence of moral people. So here’s the issue: This guy is in a position, as are many of the Hollywood elite, to get inside the minds of people. And one of his basic ideas is that morals should be relaxed. But then, what would you expect from Hollywood.
English Patient is still the most boring highly acclaimed picture of all time. Where did that come from?
The Question:
Aaaah Pucini! He made the music upon which lover’s hearts fly. Arias that electrify the soul. Name five of his operas. Expert bonus points: Name three of his most beloved arias.
The Headlines:
--Hugo Warns US: Get Out Of Columbia Or Cut Off Oil.
--White House Irate Over Leaked War Documents.
--0-Man Takes To Campaign Trail With New “Blame It On Bush” Rhetoric.
--US And South Korea Show Off Power IN Waters Off North Korea; NK Warns Nuke Retaliation For Games.
--European Banks Endure New Stress Tests Better than Expected; Euro Economic Recovery Now Looks Stringer Than US.
--Former CIA Chief Says Attack On Iran More Likely Now.
Back to More Stuff:
Lessons Learned Department:
Many years ago we lived in a two family home in the blue collar neighborhoods of Turtle Creek and Wilkins Township outside industrial Pittsburgh. The owner of our place lived next door and worked at a huge Westinghouse Electric Factory. He was a quiet, gentle man with a pleasant wife and teen daughter. One day he arrived home with a twinkle in his eye, and immediately came up to me, which was unusual in itself. “Look what I bought” he said proudly.” I looked at what he held and saw a 33 Album of Puccini’s Madam Butterfly. “Want to hear It,” he asked before I could even utter a comment, or at least a grunt of approval. Moments later the beautiful Un Bel Di filled the air. He stood silently. His eyes glistened as he looked to the sky. His chest swelled. You never know what kind of beauty resides in the heart of humans.
Doncha get the feelin’ that the media is looking forward to a war between the professional protestors and their gimme’ crowd and the good citizens of Arizona. They are looking for blood on the streets of Phoenix and they are sending many cameras down there to help incite it.
I had to love the cartoon Sunday morning that showed two battle warn US soldiers behind a sandbag wall in a desolate Mid East dessert and a newspaper on the ground with headlines that read: “Lindsay Lohan”, “Mel Gibson Rant” and “Kate Gosslin Going Camping With Sarah Palin.”
The US economy has become based upon adding expense to the cost of living of everyday people. The next big intrusion on people’s sensible budgeting will be anything related to carbon footprint credits and trading them on some phony exchange. It isn’t just overtaxing by the Government that is becoming a burden, but what the Government mandates to add to the cost of staying alive. Oh yeah, and after that, “Licenses to own homes.”
I have been remiss on commenting about the US Government funding of the Compact Power company, a US battery for electric car manufacturer, part owned by Korean giant LG. It’s not the Korean ownership that bothers me most. It is the fact that the Big Brother is usurping the Wall Street connection. If there is value in Compact Power, should the Clueless Lane folks be jumping aboard? Or are they too busy creating convoluted international investment scams to pay attention to it? Somehow the system is broken and the more the Gov jumps in, the longer it will stay broken.
Not only has India introduced a $35 competitor to iPad, but it has successfully started manufacturing the $2,150 Nano car and perfected the $2,000 heart transplant operation. While we mark up the cost of caramel laden coffee. The point is that while the “Skimmers in charge” will always make barrels of dough, the economies from now disparate countries will tend to equalize…raising pay in currently undernourished countries and decrease average pay in former leadership nations. So the global economy is good for those in charge, but will tend to diminish or even eliminate the great US middle class. It’s just the way economics works over time. And it is very sad.
Correction: In a piece about RC priest pedophilia I reported a mistakenly quoted sentence in the newspaper that said the Vatican equated the sin of pedophilia as equal to the sin of woman becoming ordained priests. The actual report is that on a new list of major sins the two were both included. The main point that still remains is that the Vatican continues to botch its announced anger at pedophile priests.
Through the Same Eyes: Chapter 85. –I sat there stunned as Isabelle coolly lopped my friend Sally off of my program. When she told Sally, two heads glared my way; Sally with a “help me” plea; Izzy with a “I’ll talk to you later” stare. I acquiesced quickly to Izzy, but did offer a comforting hand to Sally. Who looked totally befuddled. A brilliant mind, a good person; axed for no apparent reason other than a few pennies. But, I know that it is about her recent talks with Sarah. Pure and simple. Isabelle is going into defensive mode. She’s panicked. That’s dangerous.
When, after a few cold moments of silence, Isabelle uttered “That’s it” and looked down at her desk, I stood, walked calmly to Sally. “Let’s go”. I helped her up and found her unsure on shaky legs as I walked her back to her desk. Her mind was obviously racing as she didn’t make a sound. It wasn’t moments after Sally sat to laconically go through her desk, when a couple of security guards strode in. I told them we didn’t need them. They started to respond, “Mrs. ….’ I put on my anger mask and said in a voice that I have used often to make men cry. “I’ll take care of this.” They left. But they lingered, now sheepishly, in view of the door.
After another hour, Sally was ready to go. I waved off the goons and walked her down the hall, past the receptionist where the two had their last smiles together. I didn’t say much. I let Sally fume. Fuming is often the best medicine. I was more concerned by the crack in Izzy’s wall. I had to begin mending.
Sally started up her little VW, and drove slowly away. At the gate she accelerated in obvious anger.
I smiled at that. I opened my cell phone and dialed Sarah.
Compensation/Pay Czar Feinberg says he will not try to recoup from companies given bailout money the $1.6 Billion paid in bonuses to executives. His reasoning: “Shaming them is punishment enough.” Hey Feinberg! These people have no shame. Haven’t you noticed? God, what a disingenuous world we live in.
And why does the United States of America have something called a “Pay Czar” any how?
I have always considered the US Free Enterprise sacrosanct. But, I have also firmly believed that the owners of business have a responsibility to operate their businesses in a way that provides for the population of US people who endorse their freedoms. A nation of freedom is based on trust, and too many people are seeing too much evidence of business people abusing that trust. The US works when everything is a two way street. And that includes the Government too.
Where have you gone “Caveat emptor”?
The Answer: Puccini operas are among the most performed, cherished everywhere. Tosca, Turandot, Madam Butterfly, La Boheme and Menon Lescout. There are so many fantastic arias. But here are three: Nesson Dormal (Turandot), Recondita Armonia (Tosca) and O Soave Fanciutta (La Boheme). Oh yeah – UnBel Di (Madam Butterfly).
The End:
The front page feature for the Sunday New York Times was heralded by the headlines “Supreme Court Most Conservative in Decades.” How great is that? Especially considering that we have people who espouse to the philosophies of the likes of Michelangelo with the power to influence the numb.
Turn off the noise. Turn on an aria.
No comments:
Post a Comment