Books: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (1988)

Guns

Sunday Football

The Future of Doctor Who

So, I was thinking about how Doctor Who ended last week. And I've pondered some of the comments on the web about it. Thus, I've come to the conclusion that show runner Steven Moffat has created what amounts to a loose trilogy of seasons on Who. Last season was about the newly regenerated Doctor, but there is an arc to the season, beyond Amy and River Song. The exploding TARDIS is central to last season arc and one that was left hanging; it was also not solved last season. Which means, that it will have to be central to next seasons arc, along with a whatever the Silence is -because the creatures are not the Silence, and remain un-named. And I seriously doubt we've seen the last of River Song as well (if only because she told Amy that she has images of the Doctor in all of his regenerations, which could mean his earlier ones or ones we the audience have yet to see. Decides on how you view that statement).

Now there is some speculation that season 7 will more episodic than the last two seasons. Which might happen due to two things: cut backs at the BBC and the fact the season will be split again, but this time between the fall of 2012 and the winter of 2013. On the speculation front, let us say that in the fall of next year, we see seven stories. All could, essentially, be stand-alone, cost saving stories (after all, the universe will consider the Doctor dead, which lends to a sort of reboot of the show, thus giving writers a fresh slate to work from), with the exception of last episode of the fall season, most likely a beginning of a two-part story (I mean, you do want the fans to come back after a 2 or 3 month break) and one that could lead into final part of Moffat's loose trilogy.

Of course there is problems with my assumption. With November of 2013 being the franchises 50th anniversary, I'm thinking Moffat won't tie up all the loose ends -even the ominous "fall of the Eleventh" that Dorium Maldovar mentions.  To me, while the second half of season seven airs in the beginning of 2013, the series true birthday is November 23. And its no doubt that the BBC and Steven Moffat are already planning something big for the shows 50th birthday, so I would hope that Matt Smith does not leave after his third season is over. If I  was Smith, I would stay at least through an eighth season that will make up the series fiftieth, which would be the fall of 2013 and the winter of 2014. And, by far, it could make him the longest actor to play the Doctor since the show was revived in 2005.

Which leads back to the possibility that the first half or the entire seventh of Doctor Who might be more episodic than arc based of the last two seasons, and where my loose trilogy sort of falls apart. 

But we have a long time to speculate. With the change in air dates, production on season seven won't start until spring of 2012, with the first batch of episodes starting (most likely) around September/October of that year (which, ironically, will return the series back to schedule TOS had during its heyday)

Books: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2011)

On the eastern side of Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Michigan, lays Westish College. It’s a small liberal arts school, more known for, it seems, Herman Melville and Moby Dick, than baseball. Still, it is here where baseball phenom Henry Skrimshander arrives on a full ride based on the Harpooners team captain’s Mike Schwartz’s recommendation. The Harpooners have never won a championship in over the 100 years of existence, and Schwartz sees the potential in Henry. And through Henry, Mike sees a way out of failure. Which is what, essentially, frames this novel. 

Doc Hammer and Christopher McCulloch, who created the cult animated series The Venture Bros. on the Cartoon Network, have often spoke about the fact that their parody of Jonny Quest was about failure, that the series was about the “failure (that) happens to all of us.” And in The Art of Fielding there is one epic choke, and then a host of failures that are caught in its wake.

The choker is Henry, who has been a flawless at shortstop, the sheer definition of perfection. Mike Schwartz knows he’s headed for the major-leagues contract; big-time scouts and agents are starting to hover. But then...something happens. Henry's brain betrays him. He loses confidence, botching even the most routine throws. He has no idea why, and nothing seems to help. His anxiety grows more as scouts and agents begin to hover around, hearing of his legend. But even Schwartz, studying to be a lawyer, is discovering that his failure to get into graduate school is tied up with Henry’s future, which makes the badly body-damaged senior try even more to get Henry out of his funk. Then there is fellow baseball player Owen, who is a gay, biracial student whom his teammates have nicknamed “Buddha.” Owen spends most of the time on the bench, a book light wedged to the bill of his cap reading, mostly philosophy. A bad throw by Henry injures Owen, which opens the door to more of the young man’s issues, but also allows the College President, Guert Affenlight, longtime bachelor with a grown daughter, to finally express his love for Owen –one which obviously must be kept quiet. And finally, the prodigal daughter, Pella, arrives at Westish. While she arrives with only a purse, the baggage of her failed marriage in San Francisco will soon catch up with her.

It goes without saying, that one might want to pick-up Moby Dick and get a refresher course on Harbach’s themes. But The Art of Fielding is no more about baseball than it is about Herman Melville, but having a working knowledge of both might enhance the enjoyment of the book. Still, I find the obsession with perfection and the driving force that can sometimes drive people mad, very interesting. Each character is at a crossroads, and they need each other to decide where they’ll go from maelstrom that is currently affecting them. But, as always, no book is perfect. And while The Art of Fielding is nearly flawless, its characters are not fully realized, and the ending to just too tidy and Hollywoodish for my taste. Still, the prose is strong and the humor more organic than sitcom. I’ve read that HBO has acquired the rights to the book, and is adapting it into a series. Pretty impressive for a debut author.

Two by Two

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Views

We Lazy Americans

There is a point where you have to say that there is someone, some people, mostly from the top 4% of earners here in America are waging a class warfare battle with the other 96% of us. And they are counting on our laziness to do nothing about it. 

I got a letter the other day from Citibank, notifying me that they are going to start charging a monthly fee for checking. I having a checking account, and even paying by a check is old fashion. And there was a time, perhaps, when I was younger when I thought everything my mother stuck to in the world was old fashion as well. I mean, as I’ve gotten older, a lot of things became convenient, like buying books, music and movies. Why stand in line at the movie theater? You can buy your tickets online, print them up and walk in 5 minutes before the show began (but still bitch about the long concession line, though) now.

And sure, there were “extra” charges for those conveniences; surcharges when buying those concert tickets. We grumbled about paying them, yet it was more convenient than going down to record stores and waiting overnight for them. And now since music stores, like Tower Records, have been shuttled into the past (due to the convenience downloading music), brushed away like leaves on a fall afternoon, where else do you get concert tickets?

Online, of course. Where you pay a premium for the convenience of not going to the box office and risk getting crappy seats, or finding the show sold out. 

The point is, fees have are going up as lazy Americans continue to think anything mundane, like going grocery shopping, going to the bank, the post office, the book store or what not interferes with their watching Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, and every damn show on Bravo. And then texting about it to their friends –cause talking the phone or seeing people face to face is becoming inconvenient as well.

Anyways, back to the point. 

We are being coddled, herded like cows to the slewing machines due to our inability to see the forest for the trees.   

The rich get rich, the poor get poorer. 

It’s a phrase we heard all our lives. And it’s a true phrase, though, no matter how the rich try to spin it. Since the dawn of man, we’ve learned one thing: it’s easy to exploit the will of the people, especially the weakest. Of course, like in the animal world, the weakest are killed off, only the strongest survives. And we humans have adapted that one philosophy of the animal world into ours. But we are not animals, insects or plants. We are human beings, with brains that are so expansive, we’ve hardly tapped into those capabilities.

And why not? Well, because it’s convenient not too, because it’s easier to devour the weakest, instead of helping them. And while there is always going to be ones who exploit the help we are given, there percentage is small. But we punish everyone because of it.

With our current government in the thrall of corporate America, where do we as Americans draw the line in the sand? How many more people will be exploited, surcharged, beaten down like a rabid dog before we realize that rabid dog is a human being?

Are the rich the only ones entitled to free things? 

Well they worked hard for what they got, some would say, so why should they have to pay for things like, for Christ sake, a checking account?

See, starting in December, “customers who hold its mid-level Citibank Account will be charged $20 a month if they fail to maintain a minimum balance of $15,000 in their combined accounts. Previously, account holders had to carry a minimum balance of $6,000.” Now, the laws of averages dictate that not all of Citibank’s customers can do this, especially working class people of modest means, mostly people making less than $30,000 a year. What percentages of those people will get stuck paying this fee, while the huge wage earners, say anyone making $75,000 or more a year, will pay nothing? 

The way I see it, a lot. So yes, the rich will get richer because they will pay no fees, while the lower middle class gets closer to being the poor. 

It’s basic math folks; you’re being ripped off. But you let it go, because banks know your lazy and won’t move to a credit union because it will be inconvenient to trudge down to said bank, pull your money out, drive someplace else, fill out all the new paperwork, wait for a new debit card to come via the mail (of all things).  

Corporate America, who has used mutated math to explain how ripping you off is actually good for you, will continue to exploit the middle class and, especially the poor, until someone, large groups of people, stand up for themselves. We are not David’s against a Goliath that is Corporate America; we are human beings who should treat other human beings with dignity.

Three

Squirrel!

Squirrel!

Best

Mirror of my Dreams

Friends

Longview

Bound

Tactical Error

In one his last public appearances before his death of cancer at the age of 56, musician Warren Zevon told David Letterman "I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years."

Now, as I sit trying to figure out my next step in this oh so short life, I'm thinking the same thing. Except it was college I made the tactical error with. Unless I get a huge break, some sort of odd good luck (does that really exist? Depends, I guess, on how you view the world), I'm never going to have enough money to live comfortably, let alone just live.

On one hand, I got some friends who want me to go back to school to either get an associates degree or BA. How I pay for this in the age of cutbacks is beyond me. While going back may help me a bit, it sure is not a guarantee of a better job with extra money. Which also proves nothing in life is a guarantee. Still, after 30 years of working, with all my experience, I still looked as a failure because I  never went to college.

I am, of course, the one to blame for that. I had the chance, but I squandered it. Now, I'm paying for it. And will continue to pay for it until I deem at what time it is safe to leave.

 

No Jobs man...

I've read that both Macy's and Toys R Us will be hiring thousands of temporary workers for the upcoming holiday season. Which is good for some of my fellow Borders workers who were making maybe $8 to $9 an hour. But in reality, for me, those jobs are not going to work out for me.

Mostly, because I was pulling in close to $14 an hour. And that means if I was to take one of those lower paying jobs, when they lay me off after the holiday season, my unemployment insurance will be revalued at that lower pay scale rate.

But then again, I'm not sure I'll be able to find a job that paid me what Borders did. Or even more. It sounds defeatist, but my instincts tell me I should be happy with a $10 at most. I read every day about the poor job outlook, and how more companies are letting employees go due to an economy stalled because no one wants to take any risks anymore. And let's not be fooling ourselves, most of our problems stem from Washington's huge American Schism. This unfocused, pointless debate about debt ceiling, or jerks like Ron Paul calling even minimum wage damaging to economic growth is dooming us to a cycle of recession after recession.

Corporate greed  has also taken over, forcing the middle class to tighten their belts. I've abandoned so much in the weeks before Borders went under, and have continued with it since being let go 2 weeks ago. But I fear I loose so much more before I end up just giving up and taking a job at Target (which brings up the question: Target or death? Sadly, I'm not thinking Target).

In the end, as I'm told by many, its up to me to change my life, no one can do it for you. And while I agree with such a statement, I realize the tools for that change does not exist in my life. At 49, I've screwed up my life so much, I'm losing the will to wake up in the morning.

I know this self pity is pointless, but Jebus, this is how I feel. Don't discount it as whiny, childish crap. It's real, it exists.

Fuck on a fuck stick.

Big & Easy