Innocent Pictures, PG Wodehouse comment, etc.

Picture: Young lady with elbow on table corner.

Of Note:

-I have been viewing several photos of Andrew Gray who has quite a collection from his life over in the Far East. And on occasion I will even read his commentary. This morning I did that and found this:

Recently a hospital in Japan installed a small door where parents can drop off unwanted babies. It sounds terrible, but they thought it might save the lives of babies that might otherwise be dumped in some unsafe location. Three hours later a child was pushed through the door. A father had driven all the way from a far off prefecture to bring his boy -- who is three years old.

which did not go along with the picture at all. Go check out the picture here. He posted the photo back in 2007.

-from Quote of the Day, this gem from PG Wodehouse:

At the age of eleven or thereabouts women acquire a poise and an ability to handle difficult situations which a man, if he is lucky, manages to achieve somewhere in the later seventies.
- PG Wodehouse

For the record, I am not quite in my 70's so can look forward to enlightenment in the near future.

-A belated wish: that that last shot from a Davidson player had gone in which would have made the Final Four three #1's and a #10. Was very surprised to hear that it is the first time that all #1 seeds made it to the Final Four. No parity anymore? Or is it pretty good seeding by the seeding guys?

-Lorena smokes the competition down in Arizona. Started the day with a one stroke lead and ends it with a 7 stroke victory. My oh my.

-Temperatures rising today. Ground is soggy from all the rain.

Pictures for a Sunday evening

More Sunday Funnies: Obama, March Madness (ho hummy), Lorena, College Classes

Of Note:

-Good for Barack Obama for saying this (via tpm):

"My attitude is that Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants. She is a fierce and formidable opponent, and she obviously believes she would make the best nominee and the best president."

-March Madness: the Louisville game was competitive last night. What a nice break. Two #1 seeds heading to the final four; expect the other two later today. Out of a hat, Wilma picked both UCLA and North Carolina. Pretty good draw on her part.

-Lorena Ochoa is at the top of the leaderboard at Superstition Mountain, again... Good for her.

-College class times: Indy Star has a story that colleges and universities are in a quandry about having to start scheduling Friday and early morning classes. Students have long avoided such classes for a variety of reasons but the non availability of classrooms may be changing that. I remember back in the '90's when I was up at IU there was much fun when the ideal schedule was discussed: classes starting on Tuesday (and not too early) and being over by Thursday evening, thus leaving the Friday through Monday period for important things like parties and parties and then maybe a few more parties - or to catch up on sleep. Way back in the '50's, prehistoric times to be sure, students groused and grumbled about Saturday morning classes and especially before those hugh Saturday afternoon clashes of titans - the Irish football team up against the boys from Lancing or Ann Arbor or Southern California. Times have changed though I would suggest that if one is going to spend $100000 or so on a college education that they get the most for their money by taking classes 24/7 if they can.

Working with Monotone

Pictures: Leah busy with stuff; Naomi talking with Dad.

Sunday Funnies: Looks like rain

Heading to the golf course before the rains get there. Don't imagine I'll have much time before the skies open. Dang. Will be back later to post.

Scramble Recap and Golf Course Pictures

Today's scramble recap and several pictures taken at the golf course can be found at the News blog - here.

Movie: Snow Falling on Cedars

Netflix: Snow Falling on Cedars - super movie set in the Northwest - Puget Sound? A love story that turns into a courtroom drama with the somewhat mysterious death of a fisherman. Time is just after WWII and Japanese Americans and the injustice done against them after the bombing of Pearl Harbor are very much part of the story. I liked everything about this movie - music, story, acting, history references, etc. A winner and gets a five rating from me.

Calling

Golf Course is calling. Be back much later...

p.s. Did catch some of the March Madness last night - really wasn't worth the effort - the games were not competitive. How many times has that happened during a sweet 16 week?

Saturday Scramble

Reminder: 1st Manager's Scramble of the year scheduled for 10 am. Nine holes; teams selected just before ten; all golfers welcome to come out and give it a go.

Friday Night Pictures

Pictures: Great White Heron at Lakeview; Leah heading home; Lucas and Ian comparing notes; Naomi in a pensive mood.

Things that come home to roost

That would be 'chickens coming home to roost' which is to say actions really do have consequences even if it sometimes takes a little time for those consequences to be felt.

More from Hullaboo and dday:

Bush's Goons, Jenna's Barhopping, and Breathtaking Lawlessness

Two of my favorite blogs, the ones I would read first thing, were tpm and dkos. But in recent weeks the tussle between Obama and Clinton has pretty much consumed them so I have wandered a bit and found respite in the writings at Hullabaloo. Topics like WH lawlessness, phone company amnesty (hate to even put those words into print), attempts to control the press and the public, the politicization of everything under the sun, the trashing of the Constitution, lack of oversight, etc., etc., etc., have gone underground or onto the back pages. At least it seems so to me. So, Hullabaloo is a breath of fresh air, a return to some of the more meatier matters of our public life as a democracy. And they again raise the issue of why we must not let bygones be bygones, that truth must come to the fore, that justice must prevail, that those who have done wrong be held accountable. Like the strangler finally convicted just the other day of his crime of some twenty years ago (think I saw that story in the Indy Star yesterday). So let it go forward, these stories and investigations and the return to a Nation of Law rather than of men.

Friday Follies: Weather (again), etc.

Picture: dog near Jim's house who greeted me with a bark or two; he calmed down when I took his picture. Just another critter who likes to have his picture taken...

Of Note:

-When I left the golf course about 4pm yesterday, we had already received 2" of rain; got a bunch more last night. At this rate, May flowers will be everywhere...

-In case you haven't noticed: our lives have been filled with grandchildren these last several days. One thing we have found out: the rest of the world has continued pretty much on its intended path without our steady hand on the wheel (or at least our daily attention to the goings on of politicians, sports heroes and heroines, warriers, demonstrators, experts and consultants, and all the other folk who took our time and energy pre-grandkid days).

-They did play basketball last night but I forgot and didn't see the scores till later, after the movie, once the games were all over. Good to see Louisville continue; UCLA struggled but is still alive.

-Is Iraq crumbling? Short answer: yes.

-Is Hillary on her last legs? Short answer: yes.

-Is our economy, the world economy, going to withstand the seeming collapse that it is flirting with at the moment? Short answer: yes though might have to do some more flirting. But, what the heck, flirting is fun, right?

-Who's going to be the next Lion boys' basketball coach? It's hard to follow a legend even if you are good.

-And what's with the dust up in Tibet? And did I see something about 'dirty bomb' material making its way to Columbia?

Problems and concerns galore. Best stay wrapped up in the antics of two girly grandkids and the fortunes and misfortunes of early season golf. And take a picture or two along the way.

Lust, Caution

Lust, Caution: a Netflix movie that Diane and I watched this evening - Danielle and the girls had already retired. It's a goodie with the setting being1942 Shanghai. Chinese movie with subtitles, a love story, intrigue, and an ending that is predictable though nonetheless sad and disturbing. A five rating from me.

Jodie Foster and The Brave One

Late Netflix movie last night: The Brave One. The two youngsters didn't want to go to bed till the wee hours so we waited. The movie, along with the popcorn made by Diane, were well worth the wait. Jodie Foster, a favorite of ours, does a terrific job in this movie as a woman who seeks revenge for the horrible killing of her fiance. Everything is good in this movie - the acting, the script, the scenery, the music. And the ending is both surprising and right. The entire audience cheered! Not fare for young eyes especially just before bed what with all the violence. A goodie. Gets a five from me.

Cabin time

Heading off to the Cabin for breakfast with the Batemans. The picture: Cassie the Chipmunk, an Easter day visitor.

Reminder: go golf. Weather doesn't look all that bad. Really.

Pictures for a Wednesday evening: young ladies

Leah and Naomi

Girls vist the farm

On pubic opinion and the rule of law and accountability; Irish women win!

Of Note:

--digby at Hullaboo has a few things to say about Chaney and Nixon and Ford and the Republicans and history. For instance:

Cheney thinks that history vindicated Ford and therefore history will vindicate him too. Not in a million years. History will show that from Nixon to the Codpiece, the Republican Party has been progressively more criminal and more aggressively undemocratic and imperialistic.

Hmmm. She also thinks the Nixon pardon was a mistake:

Allowing Nixon to get away with his crimes while his fellow Republicans angrily stewed over the injustice of his downfall is what led to the ongoing usurpation of the constitution under Republican rule. They believe the president is above the law and the constitution. Why wouldn't they? They do these things and there's no accountability...

Hmmm. I think she would just as soon see them all in jail paying for their crimes. I know that there are some good Republicans - they all can't be bad; same with the Democrats - they all can't be good. I agree with digby and, she'll be happy to hear, have already talked with Dante about the appropriate ring of hell for these scoundrels.

-Woke up to sunrise and daylight and children laughing not all that long ago. And then I read digby. Sea change...

-Irish women last night trashed the Oklahoma Sooners, coming from seven down late to beat them in overtime. Just told Danielle to half way mention the win to her Sooner husband, Phil. In jest, of course.

-Did I mention it's a golf day? Might even be a golf weekend. Holy Cow and Mary too! Good things breaking out all over the place. Best get myself over yonder (to the golf course) and do some meeting and greeting.

Naomi doing something important...

...posting a letter for dad.

Larry Bird, Irish Ladies, Indiana and Hillary and Barack

Picture: Leah looking for the Great White Whale.

Of note:

-Larry Bird in the news - amazing man with multiple talents. Hope he can pull the Pacers up from the depths...

-Irish Ladies still alive in the Big Dance for the other half of the college basketball world. Play Oklahoma tonight.

-WaPo article calls Indiana a state of parity. Which means that it could go for either Hillary or Barack in the upcoming primary. Maybe with a slight edge to the Lady because of Evan's support.

Letters from the now dead - powerful stuff

From the NY times, these messages written by our young over in Iraq before they died. Very powerful stuff. Read them all. Ends with a last letter of love.

Picture for an Easter Monday evening

Babe in the woods

History's Lessons, Big Boy Golf, March Madness, Photo Blogs

Picture: girls smiling.

Items of Note on a Monday Morning:

-a Pat Buchanan quote from a comment (Quotation Man) on a Kevin Drum blog on John McCain's economic policy which is really saying more about something else, somebody's folly or something:

"With our lavish $1 billion American Embassy in Baghdad, Pax Americana will have reached its apogee. But then the tide recedes, for the one endeavour at which Islamic people excel is expelling imperial powers by terror or guerilla war.

They drove the Brits out of Palestine and Aden, the French out of Algeria, the Russians out of Afghanistan, the Americans out of Somalia and Beirut, and the Israelis out of Lebanon. We have started up the road to empire and over the next hill we will meet those who went before - broken and defeated. The only lesson we learn from history is that we do not learn from history."
-- Pat Buchanan

Pretty amazing, right? Wonder if anybody was paying attention? Probably not; we are human afterall and like to do things for ourselves - live our own lives, make our own mistakes. Too bad we don't have some more built in restraints, like maybe a responsible oversight by an equal branch of government, or maybe a strong United Nations that can say "Whoa, feller, not so fast..." Live and learn or not learn as the case may be.

-Tiger still alive at Doral but he sure didn't help himself yesterday. His 'close-the-deal' putting is taking a break. Five back with seven to play on a Monday morning. Weather playing havoc with the big boys lives as well.

-March Madness: Sweet Sixteen determined; Davidson and Villanova and Western Kentucky the only double digit seeds left. A whole bunch of cheering for Butler here in this house on the hill yesterday afternoon. Alas to no avail. The Bulldogs lose in overtime.

-and if you have time and interest, check out the photo blogging world online. This is a good place to start. And this is one of the photoblogs I've been looking at with a Cambodian classroom being the photo subject. Here's another by a guy who calls himself Boxman and took a shot of a 'cattle' and a dog. Cool.

Time to get on with my day. Gonna go and find the warm button so that those among us who would like to play a little golf can do just that.

One picture for a snowy-rainy-sunny Easter Sunday

Picture: Leah enjoying some of the snow flurries this afternoon.

Hope your Easter was a good one. Ours was.

Easter, Cheating, Tiger's luck, Hatchets

Happy Easter!

Of Note:

-Here's a very good article on cheating, no, not the marital kind, the New England Patriots' kind - stealing signals. The author uses an oft quoted Shakespearian phrase: at length, truth will out. He cites the 2001 confirmation of the theft of the pitch which Bobby Thompson hit to win a playoff game way back in 1951 - 'the shot heard around the world.' I admit my bias, that of being a avid Colt fan. Wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if the ill gotten Super Bowl victories were stripped from the New Englanders. (Wonder why WaPo chooses an Easter Sunday morning to publish this piece?)

-Tiger's luck? TW has an off day and gets the round suspended after 11 holes because of rain. Of course he might have done what Vijay did with the rest of his back nine - birdies on 12, 13, 14 and 16. And what's with Tiger's short putting game? He never misses those. Chinks in the armor. Tiger fans expect a turn around today. Oops - just checked - he did not birdie #12, a par 5.

-Congrats to the Hatchets who made it look easy in winning state yesterday. The Irish could have used Luke's younger brother Ty last night against Washington State.

Saturday Night Movie: Eastern Promises, Irish told to sit

Movie from Netflix: Eastern Promises: A violent movie set in London with the main characters being part of the Russian Mafia. Not pretty; lots of blood and eeeew moments. Will hold your attention and the ending leaves all sorts of sequels as an option.

Watched the movie after watching enough of the Irish-WSU game to be disgusted. Wonder what the Irish did to get themselves prepared for this game, play tiddlywinks and checkers?

Strange Quiet

Pictures: Girls walking in the park yesterday.

Diane and Danielle went off to Wal-Mart with Naomi and Leah. March Madness continues but not till a bit later (I think, haven't checked). And Tiger's show doesn't come on till mid afternoon. Suddenly verrrry quiet here in the home atop the hill. What to do, what to do.

Did watch a movie till the wee hours last night: Summer Palace. A dark tale of lust and love in China during the student revolt in the late 80's and the ten years following. A love story that doesn't end well, or at least not with the lovers joining hands and marching off into the sunset at the end. Diane and Danielle went to bed way before the middle of the film. Was late though and the day had been filled with the youngsters.

Cool and cloudy - might head over to the golf course for a walk. Again not very pleasant weather for the golfers among us.

And if you didn't notice:

-Tiger one behind at Doral.
-Irish play Washington State today - WSU is Diane's sister's husband's alma mater (don't know if I've ever seen three possessives in a row - for the grammarians out there - is it a no no? doesn't appear to be too awkward).
-IU lost last night. What happened to Eric Gordon? DJ White very impressive.
-Nice to see a bunch of upsets though am glad the Irish survived, handily.

more cute pictures

Political Hanky-Panky

digby comments on sex and politicians in New York and calls it 'ridiculous'. My oh my oh my.

More grandkids, NCAA Tournament, Big Boy Golf

Pictures: the little darlings busy with the very difficult and serious task of ice cream eating.

Grandkids and a bit of Hillary before 11; golf course from 11 till 7; more grandkids and a bit more Hillary after 7.

March Madness:

-Irish way up on George Mason with six minutes to go. I had forgotten that the Irish were sent packing by Winthrop last year. What an embarrassment.
-Duke barely escapes a 15 seed when Belmont fails on two separate shots to send the Dukies home. Darn...

Big Boy Golf

-Tiger two back after three putting #18. Kicks self.

Grandkid Day!

At least so far. Do have to take a break from all their innocence and bright eyes and easy smiles and head to the golf course. Sunshine and mild temperatures today.

And Hillary is in Indiana!

And Tiger tees it up again.

And March Madness gets underway in a couple of hours.

Wow. What a day!

Little Darlings

The grandkids have arrived. Little darlings.

Wednesday Wrap: the gilrz, Women and Governance, Ruff Ruffman

Picture: looking northwest across Stoll's parking lot coming out of the golf course at the big muddy - Boggs Lake full to brimming. More pictures over at the News blog.

The 'girlz' are probably in Bloomington now, having a little something to eat with Kevin and Miki. The 'girlz': Danielle, Naomi and Leah. Coming in from Kirkland near Seattle for a stay in good old Indiana. Marty is bringing them down from the Indy airport and will stay the night. Big doings.

Have I mentioned this book before? Why Women Should Rule by Dee Dee Myers. NPR has a brief review and a longish excerpt from the book. Worth reading and promoting, at least the idea of women playing more of a role in the governing process.

Had the pleasure, and it really is a pleasure, of watching Ruff Ruffman after dinner this evening. You remember he is the animated dog host of Fetch!, a PBS program for kids. You also remember that wsiu out of Carbondale uses one of its four channels to broadcast regular pbs programming west coast time. Makes for a nice break from the adult stuff to catch wild and crazy Ruff Ruffman having fun with real kids doing interesting things like paint murals on buildings and do the weather report. Neat for the kids; neat for us adults needing a dose of innocence every now and then. Lots of fun; lots of laughs.

Time-for-something-to-eat picture

Five years in Iraq

As you can imagine, the blogs are full of Iraq and things people said in ignorance and bluster five some years ago and are still saying in ignorance and bluster. Let me add my two cents: war is stupid, really stupid. It took twenty some years for United States citizens to get over the shock of Vietnam and let some cowboy take us into another foreign conflict. May it take forty, make that sixty, no, one hundred years before it happens again. Make that one thousand years and that might be too soon. (Just did some off site calculations and, by golly, that is way too soon. Let it, war, be postponed indefinitely.)

Rainy Day Tasks: Go to Bloomington, Stop at Eric's in Odon, Movie

Up to Bloomington for a visit with Number One Daughter, Miki, and then on to Sam's for goodies for the golf course. Home late in the afternoon after a brief stop at Eric's place just north of Odon. Did stop one more time, at the golf course where two inches of rain have fallen during the last 24 hours. Soggy and sodden. Remember though, April showers bring May flowers.

Home for a late afternoon and early evening movie: Amores Perros. This one, set in Mexico City, is a movie that Michael Vick might want to watch because of the apparently legal dog fighting that is front and center during the first half of the show. Complex and violent movie that takes you to the very end before getting everything tied up in a neat little bundle. Watch the old dude, disheveled and disreputable; he's the main guy and is alone in walking away from it all, at least for a bit. Dogs are everywhere.

Little Friends' Pictures

Pictures: Baby goats at Eric's place and Miki's Kahlo.

Tiger, Tiger Everywhere, Online Games, Citizens of the World

News of Note:

-Ron Sirak suggests Tiger's motivation this year is that he wants to win not just the majors but everything he plays. Well, of course. I would add that he not only wants to win but expects to win. And that is probably the greatest difference between Tiger and all the rest of the pro golfers who are probably checking Tiger's calendar to make special note of when Tiger is not playing. Will want to be sure and get into those tournaments. Good news for the other golfers on tour: Tiger doesn't play all that much.

-for all you gamers out there, the NYTimes has an article on online gaming. For starters:

For some children, watching “Dora the Explorer” on television is becoming passé. Now, they want to be Dora.

and to end it all:

Cradling a laptop in his lap, Mr. Youngwood demonstrated Pencil Racer, a simple-seeming but oddly compelling challenge on Addicting Games that lets users create, share and rate racetracks. It has registered 1.5 million plays.

“Do I want to be a truck, a car or a warthog?” he asked before choosing the animal. “Everyone loves the warthog.”

So go have fun if that is your thing. I know two young boys and one senior lady who love online games. And the two young boys just got hooked up to broadband which will expand their world by a mile or two (a cyber or two? a gigabyte or two?).

-Barack Obama is one of eight children sired by his father. Will be very interesting finding out about their lives in the months to come. Roger Cohen gives a few details here, and a lot of commentary. As he mentions, we are 'globalized'. That is very cool, you know, realizing that we are part of a much larger whole. Citizens of the world, unite! (Stop war, make peace, love, etc.)

Picture for a Monday Evening: Power Poles

Tiger and Louise, MM (March Madness), Sundays

Items of Note:

Golf:

-Tiger wins with a long putt on the 72nd hole. And then, amid all the bedlam, Sean O'Hair sinks a longish putt (10'?) to remain tied for third. And lets not forget what Louise Friberg did down in HUXQUILUCAN, Mexico, coming from ten back by shooting seven under to win her very first LPGA event. But the Tiger moment was pretty special, even for him, slamming his hat to the ground once the ball dropped into the cup. He admitted later that he wondered how Steve Williams happened to have his hat. Meanwhile, out at Lakeview...

Basketball:

March Madness has descended upon us again. I want Georgia to take it all what with their improbable run to win the SEC tournament and heading to the big dance with a record of 17 wins and 16 losses. Just kidding. I want the Irish to whip up on the Hoosiers after the Hoosiers whip up on the Tarheels. Of course, the Irish have to get through 12th seeded George Mason and then Washington State (probably) first. And the Hoosiers...

And after all that excitement elsewhere, Diane and I scurried into town last night for a sunday on a Sunday with Jim and Wilma - sweets and laughs to cap the week. And now another week is upon us. Hopefully, Spring will boot Winter to kingdom come.

Pictures for a Sunday Afternoon

Pictures: A couple of youngsters caught me taking their picture from afar; Tracy and Jeff going up #4 and Terry going up #6; Tracy, pensive, striding toward the 4th green.

Sunday Funnies: Republican Miseries, Lorena's Miseries, Mexican Golf Courses

Bad news for Repubs is good news for Dems. From the WaPo. Briefly: Republicans prospects in the House and Senate and in fund raising are dim (dimming?). The article does end with the possibility that poll numbers show a move toward McCain, on the one hand, and the squabbling of Obama and Clinton, on the other, will only help the Republicans. Don't know if that is true but lets stop the squabbling anyway.

Lorena in trouble in her home country's tour event. But, get this:

In a country that has fewer than 300 golf courses but 108 million people -- and where green fees often cost five times the average daily wage...

Hmmm. Five times the average daily wage. From a Frontline World report back in 2006:

The average daily wage in Mexico is approximately US$7.

Hmmmm. So, $35? I bet not. And that makes me wonder what the average daily wage in the United States is. And how many golf course for our population? 17000? For a population of 303 million. I would say that Mexico with one third the population needs about 4500 more courses. Expect that would drive down the prices a little.

It's still early and it's still dark and the rest of the household is up - that would be Marty and Diane. No cats, no dogs; not even any birds, yet...

Saturday Wrap: Tiger, the Progressives, Hatchets, Family

-Tiger plays well and suddenly finds himself at the top of the leaderboard at Bay Hill, tied at 6 under after starting the day seven back. Pretty good day for TW.
-alegre at dailykos goes on strike because of the animosity for Hillary at dailykos. dailykos used to be a site I visited frequently but have only given it cursory attention these last several weeks because of its 150% support of Barack Obama (which is fine) and its vilification of Hillary Clinton (which I find way out of line). Too bad the Democrats are feuding. They need to come together and fight the common enemy - that would be John McCain and the Republicans. Way too much at stake to win the battle and lose the war.
-Washington Hatchets win and advance to the state final. Go Hatchets.

-Ian over for several hours playing computer games including one called street fight where Hillary and Barack are duking it out - animation. Hillary wins.
-Marty in for the night after a trip to Louisville. Going to help me make my computer do more tomorrow.
-Eric gets his very first gizmo/memory stick - gift from Marty who has moved up to one that holds not only all the data in this world but also from a couple of worlds still light years away.
-Danielle, Naomi and Leah will get here next Wednesday. Diane's been shopping to the gills.

Not so nice day for golf in these parts though some enjoyed getting out in the gray and the wind and the cool.

March Basketball: Would ND, IU and Purdue please sit down...

News of Note:

-IU loses to Minn in a buzzer beater. I was kinda watching it on the computer, heading to the game center over the second half every now and then to catch an update. Then it got down to the last minute and then the last half minute and then suddenly White's put back ties it and I say to myself I had better see what's going on on the radio. Catch D.J. White making the free throw to put the Hoosiers up by one - bedlam! And then the announcers being very careful not to count it as a win yet - remembering Nick Anderson (I don't...). Then the gol durn Golphers throw the gol durn ball in bounds and some gol durn guy catches it and throws up a gol durn shot that... gol durn it, goes in. You can imagine how the radio announcers sounded. What a bummer. Imagine Marty and Eric and a host of other guys from around here just feeling real lousy about then. Guess it was a gol durn good game though, especially for IU in that last crazy minute that saw White leap tall buildings and deflect speeding bullets. That is untill...

-Purdue lost as well. Think that the IU and Purdue coaches are probably pretty happy about now if they're thinking like Coach Brey up at ND, happy about not having to face any more conference foes for the rest of this week and next week as well (Eric told me that yes the NCAA makes the effort not to pair conference foes the first week of the Big Dance). Maybe Coach Brey will get a Big Ten team and Dakich will get a Big East team. The Boilermakers? Butler?

March Madness has begun.

Friday Afternoon Movie: The Real Dirt on Farmer John

Friday afternoon movie while the rains moved through the area: from Netflix - The Real Dirt on Farmer John. Another good one. Diane and I were deeply touched by this documentary of a man who was born on the land, inherited the land, worked the land, lost the land, then returned to the land and made it better with the help of a community of people wanting to have some connection to a land that for them remained something way outside the city limits of Chicago. I think part of the reason we were so deeply touched was that we got a peek at one of our parallel lives (as defined by Richard Bach in his book One). It was/is a honey.

Barack's Mom, Big Boy Golf, Irish Woes

News of Note;

-from the NYTimes, an article on a fascinating woman whose life was way too short: Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro. The article explains the 'Stanley'. Her first child: Barack Obama. Characteristics I would give this woman from reading the article: independent, adventurous, a world citizen, generous, demanding, a wonder. Go read it...

-from the LATimes, a brief recap on how Obama is leading - the numbers. But can he win PA? And if he doesn't, is it important? Hillary's camp says it is important; Barack's thinks otherwise. I say if it's close, and that's the way it looks right now, doesn't amount to much more than bragging rights. Question then is: are the super delegates influenced by brag? My suggestion to the two Democratic candidates: aim your pointy comments at John McCain, not each other.

-Freddie leading at Bay Hill. Tiger 5 back. Anybody counting Tiger out yet?

-Irish lose in Big East tournament. Marquette whips up on the conference player and coach of the year, Luke Harangody and Mike Brey. From the espn.com link, the ND coach: "I am glad we won't be playing Big East games next week," he said. "I've had enough and I'm sure other coaches feel the same way." Really? I guess when he says next week, he's assuming that the Irish will be in the big dance and that they won't play a Big East team either midweek or on the weekend. Is that really how it works?

Daybreak here on the hill and a little rain. Diane still sleeping - she's been doing that fairly well these last few days and, yes, she still is not back to her good old self. But maybe today...

Karry Stoll and Tyler Too!

Pictures: Karry Stoll and son, Tyler, came out after five today and made the rounds. For Karry, a big swing and a putt that really should have gone in, but didn't. The two of them making waves... Lakeview Golf Course News has an additional picture of one of today's golfers.

Fine weather and a movie - No Country for Old Men

Items of note:

-Wasn't yesterday's weather just grand? More of the same today but then I guess we have to pay for the fine stuff with some not so fine - rain and lower temperatures.

-Diane still feeling poorly but not so poorly as she did.

-Movie last night: No Country for Old Men. From the Netflix link:

A hunter (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon a dead body, $2 million and a stash of heroin in the woods.

Hmmm. Guess he did find the loot by of couple of trees on a hill but I think they were the only trees in miles. The setting is West Texas and there just aren't a whole lot of trees but maybe that is what they call woods down there - any gathering of two or more trees. Diane says it was really good - I was too tired to really appreciate it having dragged myself away from the golf course shortly after eight.

Will have to do for now as I hear the golf course beckoning - what a lovely sound.

More Spitzer, a Political Compass, Obama and Clinton

News of Note:

-Eliot Spitzer is still the hot news item with even PBS devoting a segment to the 'situation' last night. John Kennedy and Nelson Rockefeller (among many I am sure) might be thinking that they were pretty lucky to have lived in an earlier time when the sexual lives of the rich and famous were considered private.
--Update: from the Indy Star (!): Spitzer story a boon to comics.

-Marty sent me this political compass guide which is verrry interesting as it tries to marry the social with the economic sides of our nature to come up with a new and more meaningful definition of our political leanings. It's a goodie; go take it and find out who you really are.

-Obama wins another state. Ho hum...

-Mikey wants to know if Hillary Clinton were a man would she be one of the two remaining candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination? I think she would and I also think Barack Obama would be where he is no matter what. Has anybody stressed the organizational skills this guy has? Well, yes...

Movie: Trade

Picture: have chair, will rock.

Plenty of golf this afternoon and evening and then still plenty of daylight left over. Think golfers are going to love these long lighted evenings. Should be more tomorrow with the temperatures expected to rise into the high fifties.

Plenty of stuff going on in the rest of the world. Some good, some bad, some somewhere in between. One bad thing: Diane down with the flu - she insists it will be gone in the morning, has to be. Did manage to keep her eyes open long enough to watch a movie from Netflix this evening: Trade. About international sex trafficking. Mexico City, Juarez, somewhere across the border from Juarez, somewhere in New Jersey. A sordid business, a heavy topic poorly presented but holding our interest till the end. Give it a three.

No Torture, Rove and a Fox Painting, Wm Buckley Tribute

Items of note:

-from Kevin Drum: No torture, no exceptions and the blog links to the report of an FBI agent who actually questioned al-qaeda people and did it without torture or the threat of torture. No torture, no exceptions. I like it.

-this from thinkprogress.org via Kevin Drum:

Rove: I fully expect to be indicted by the end of the year.

More than interesting as Jim B. was mentioning how well Karl Rove came across in dueling with Bill O'Reilly on Fox last night (?). Before giving me the details I told him of a painting I saw on Antiques Roadshow last night: it was of a red fox lounging on a hillside with an 'i-ate-the-canary' look and a caption that goes something like this: well, no, I have no idea where your hen is, Mr. Farmer Man. Still waiting for the day Mr. Rove is behind bars; the sooner the better.

-Caught this Charlie Rose round table tribute to William Buckley last night. It was an hour of informal rememberings of Buckley and how he touched the lives of the guests. I remember watching him on Firing Line years ago. Excellent - both Firing Line and the Charlie Rose tribute.

-Breakfast at the Cabin with Jim and Wilma after paper signing session with Dave W. at the bank. All's well.

-News that Daughter Number Two, Danielle, and her two daughters are coming to town on the 19th for an extended stay. That's great news!

Time to wrap up here and head to the golf course; well, guess not quite yet - sun is shining but the temperature is still sub 40.

Sex in High Places Sweeps Other News Off the Front Page

Are we surprised? No. Are we shocked? No. Are we learning anything new? Well, as a matter of fact, yes. 10k/night. Wow. But that's just hearsay. Are we appreciative of the break from the usual news stories? Be honest now. Okay, gotta admit that I for one am. Hillary and Barack and John (and what ever happened to George?) have been getting all the headlines recently. Time for a change. Sorry it had to be you, Elliott.

Here's Matt Cooper's early take on the affair (but it really isn't an affair as that would be something that is on going whereas this call girl thing is a horse of a different color, isn't it?). Matt Cooper - you remember he was part of the Valarie Plame affair as a reporter for the NY Times who was questioned before the grand jury - leads off with this:

Spitzer: Why is Prostitution Illegal Anyway?

Hmmm. Short article with a few comments. And it remains a good question that various groups/countries/governments have answered in different ways.

And then there is this headline from TIME:

More Sex Please, We're French

But wait, lookee here at one of the article's statistics:

20% of French men aged 18-24 years say they have no interest in sexual or romantic activity whatever.

Now that is hard to believe. I've heard some 50+ golfers say that they would rather play golf than have sex but never that they had no interest in it.

Interesting stuff and really a nice break from the usual. But now back to the more mundane.

News of note:

-firedoglake and bluetexan take 60 minutes and Scott Pelley to task for the 'foot massage' treatment given to John McCain in interview last night. I watched it: pretty soft pedal by Pelley and yes indeedy McCain comes out looking pretty good - solid and well grounded in his wrong headed beliefs. He does mention that he thinks America is a 'right of center' nation and that the guys on the other side (Clinton and Obama) are liberals. Well, yes they are: liberals, progressives, realists, non-imperialistic, egalitarian, believers in the Constitution, non-torturers, anti war, for universal health care...

-Stewart Cink implodes and Sean O'Hair takes the trophy at PODS. That course sure looked unlike a Florida course and more like something you would find here in the Midwest - lots of trees, for instance.

-Kevin Drum tells of the Washington Monthly devoting an entire issue to a single subject: torture. From Kevin's blog:

Most of you reading this hardly need to be convinced on this score. But you almost certainly know people who do need to be convinced — and who need more than just a moral argument. So this is it. The next time somebody asks, tell them the story of Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Tell them the story of not just how torture has tainted America's claim to the moral high ground throughout the world, but how it's actively hurt the war on terror. Tell them.

Okay. Any of you guys need convincing that torture is absolutely wrong? Didn't think so... Don't recall torture coming up at all in the campaigns but expect it has.

Diane just fixed herself some breakfast; expect I should do the same and then head on over to the golf course, or maybe to town... It is 10:40 (9:40 old time, like last Saturday...) after all.

Pictures for a Sunday: Sunday Drive, Geese Taking Off

The carriage and horse were taken in the late afternoon; the geese, swan and ducks earlier in the afternoon over at Boggs Lake.

Great Men of the English Speaking World: Churchill and T. Roosevelt

Winston Churchill: Great English patriot, leader, writer. Evan as a youngster, I was aware of the bigness of this man as he played a major role in the salvation of England from Hitler and the Germans but then had to pretty much stand by as the British Empire became but a whisper of what it used to be. But mostly I remember him as a writer having enjoyed his six volume set on the Second World War.

Teddy Roosevelt: Great American patriot, leader, writer. A Progressive Republican who gained the presidency when William McKinley was assassinated. A man of many interests and unbounded energy. And, something I didn't realize, he was the first president to call for universal health care, or so the linked article from wikipedia.com says.

I was reminded of these two great men by an item at tpm.com that referred to a John McCain web ad noted here that had clips of Churchill and Roosevelt interspersed with clips of both a young McCain and the current McCain. The three of them are all politicians for sure and I guess the maverickee side of McCain could be compared with the progressiveness of Roosevelt. Don't know if anybody considers McCain a good or great writer; the other two were both very good and very prolific writers.

Interesting stuff. Going out to the golf course for a look see and a walk.

Pictures for a Friday and a Saturday

Pictures: Friday snow storm, two of four deer just outside our north window late this afternoon, and the view out the front door this morning, nothing like the appropriate golf weather a few of us wanted so badly (maybe more than a few of us).