Reading Time and Other Thoughts...

It's been awhile since I last made a contribution to this blog. Things have been somewhat busy here in Managua. Kim has been sick a lot, and I've been dedicating a lot of my time to working out and my Google job. Since the Gators won the National Championship, I've been like a dog that got a hold of some spare ribs and spends a long time resting under an oak tree, content as can be. I've been half-interested in all things 'sport', preferring to watch (over and over) the DVD of the game that Mike so graciously sent to me.

Well, Kim and I are trying to get back to reading more now. We couldn't have picked two more different books. Unfortunately, I picked the clunker of the bunch.

Marley and Me
Let me start out by saying, Kim recommended this book to me, as she read it shortly after Stella decided to come live with us. So, I thought it'd be a good idea to give it a shot as well, you know, a little reinforcement and empathy regarding the upbringing of hyper labrador retrievers. So, basically the story goes like this.... A young married couple contemplating life with children, decides to buy a dog to determine whether they are well suited for parenthood. They then proceed to hand over the keys to the kingdom to a labrador puppy, all the while, in supposed awe of why their dog is so unruly. I've never read such spineless drivel in all my life. At one point, they just shrug it off when Marley escapes her pen and claws all the way through the drywall of the house, ripping out electrical wires and whatnot. It seemingly never occurred to them to put a padlock on the cage!

This book drones on and on, with no point, other than the obvious nature in which more and more American adults cede their lives to would-be subordinate creatures (dogs, children, plants, whatever...) A recent study was conducted that showed how marraige failure rates directly correspond to unhealthy parent-child focus, and not enough on the two grown adults that brought he/she into the world. I buy into this theory wholeheartedly. In my view, you can heap lavish amounts of time and energy on a child, but without the bedrock foundation of husband and wife, it is like the shifting sands of instability. Ok, I digress....Suffice it to say, I wasn't a big fan of Marley and Me! It was one of the rare occasions that I didn't even finish the book. Heck, and I actually read all of Canterbury Tales!

Various Positions: A Life of Leonard Cohen
Well, this one sounds good in theory. A much needed biography of Canada's erstwhile poet laureate, turned folk-singer. The 'maestro of melancholy', or 'Canadian Bob Dylan', Cohen is one fascinating character. Born in the 1930s in an upper-class Montreal world, he eschews the 'easy life', becomes an acclaimed poet, spending the next 25 years or so in self-imposed exile on the island of Hydra (off the coast of Greece). Tortured by depression, drug addiction, and other problems, he decides that he'll become a rock star, not before converting to Buddhism (Jewish by birth, and well versed in both Christianity and Judaism) With a true gift of the pen, Cohen puts his words to music, and in his mid-thirties, becomes a musical celebrity of sorts. Oh yeah, I failed to mention his addiction to women, always the sign of a good poet! hahahaha....

As for the book...Well, the book is too scholarly. That is, it was written by a scholar, seeking to critique the iambic pentameter and ancient Judiac influence on Cohen's lyrical poems. There isn't enough 'and then Leonard went to the bar and met Rebecca De Mourney...'. I believe there is a time and place for critique....But, the more interesting story, at least in my view, is the psyche of a man that wrote such depressingly beautiful music. Personally, I haven't read it yet, but based on the 'debriefing' that I've received from Kim, I know which parts to read and which parts to avoid. Just by merely hearing about it secondhand, I've been inspired to learn the music for several of his songs. Unfortunately (or fortunately as it may be), I am not convincing in my melancholy voice. Oh well....one of these days, I'll learn to play some music that is actually happy. haahahahaa.

Well, there you have it. Kim got the better end of the deal. I've been inspired to go write some poetry or something.

For those of you that know me, know that I love the Blues, particularly acoustic 'Country Blues'. Well, one of my revised life goals is to be able to play 'Country Blues' (ahem...with some singing as well) At any rate, the above video is a classic about a bad woman, 'Crow Jane' (I have to tell you that, as I can't sing it yet!)

This one is 'Coffee Blues', also known as 'Lovin' Spoonful'. Mississippi John Hurt does an incredible version of it. As you will see, I don't know how to properly 'end' songs yet....it just tends to come crashing down, with missed notes and other 'signs' that I should probably go grab a beer and watch TV for awhile.

Finally, another by Mississippi John Hurt, 'Ain't Nobody's Dirty Business'. I actually sing a little on this one! Anyways, now you all know what I've been doing with my free time. I've re-dedicated my life to the blues...

Shock and Awe...Urban Warfare In The Desert!

GATORS WIN. NATIONAL CHAMPS ONCE AGAIN!!!!!

That has to be my favorite football game of all-time. From a purely selfish standpoint, it couldn't have gone any better had I scripted it. It was like when I used to play Atari football when I was a kid, manipulating both joysticks, so the 'blue guys' could dominate the 'red guys.' I would pretend that the blue team was Florida, while the red team was the Dawgs. Well....last night, they were the Buckeyes...

After the opening kickoff TD, two thoughts quickly raced into my head. First, and foremost, I was afraid that Ohio State was going to match the Gators speed and play more physically. Ted Ginn sure made everyone look slow on that play. The other, lesser thought, running around in my noggin was, maybe this play is an anomoly. I remember a Florida-Miami game when Zook was coach, when Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and Florida went on to completely dominate...(only to ultimately lose in grand-Zook fashion.) Anyways, I can't talk about Zook right now! Simply put, Ohio State had no answer for Florida's defensive line...They were too quick, like bookends firing through the line every snap. Florida had too many weapons, and it was an ugly, ugly game for objective viewers. I can't really articulate much more right now, but suffice it to say, I will probably never enjoy a blowout football game any more than the one I witnessed last night. I sure hope Urban Meyer doesn't want anything to do with the NFL!

Signing Day for recruiting promises to be a fun one this year..........

Happy New year

Well...New Year's just isn't complete until Notre Dame loses their bowl game. Some folks like to celebrate with Dick Clark, others prefer silly parties with amateur revelers (you know, people that imbibe on 2 holidays and a birthday all year long....who wants to get tangled in Tanquerey with that person?!)....I digress....

Oh yeah, so...here it is 1/03, and I'm still talking about New Year's. That's because New Year's isn't complete without the ghost of Knute Rockne and a disappointing showing for the Golden Domers. Right now, it is 41-14, and it could very well get uglier. With under 5 minutes, LSU can't quite run the clock out just yet.

In other news, Daniel Ortega is poised to take over the presidency of Nicaragua in about a week. On January 10, the transition back to Sandinistan socialism will begin in earnest. With promises of 'peace, reconciliation, and cooperation with the U.S.', Ortega claims to be a changed man. Since leading a cadre of youths in the 1979 Somoza overthrow, and a subsequent dark decade of civil war, destruction, and economic stagnation, Ortega has been laying low....a snake in the grass, if you will, in Nicaraguan politics. Following the disastrous Lobster Revolution and civil war (50,000 dead in a country of a little over 5 million....proportionate to the U.S., that equals roughly the devastation of the American Civil War a century ago), he was defeated in 1990 elections, and peacefully relenquished power, vowing to return. Well, not unlike MacArthur, he has returned! .....[speaking of devastation, it's official, Notre Dame's coach is denied a January Gatorade bath yet again!!]

Where was I?....Oh, yeah. So, Ortega is promising change. We'll see. As for how all this affects me, I don't see a real change in my life. But, I don't think the people will tolerate a return to the past. Ortega won his victory with around 40% of the popular vote. He has a pretty solid base of voters; young people, pensioners, the poor,basically all the disenfranchised Nicaraguans, folks with nothing to lose. Because of the great land grabs of the 80s, many of these poor folks are poised to claim their '40 acres and a mule' (to borrow the Lincolnian phrase). On the other end of this deal is whose '40 acres' is going to be redistributed. Not to say that it will happen, but one must expect a certain segment of the populace to test the 'new Ortega'. So, the million-dollar (literally) question is, will Ortega empathize with the land grabbers, or will he prove to foreign investors that Nicaragua is a stable country with respect for international law.

We shall see....