It’s the end of the world as we know it…

Well, the USA as we knew it anyway.  Don’t miss Victor David Hanson’s take on the situation.  Pretty much captures my sentiments.

An excerpt:

Obama could have had a one-time stimulus, then vowed to balance the budget. He might have praised wind and solar as he asked the carbon industry to ‘get us through.’ He could have politely disagreed with Bush, but framing differences in the tragic notion of no good choices. He might have cooled the overseas apologies, savvy that other nations have more to apologize for than his own. Obama should have established zero-tolerance for tax avoidance at a time of record tax increases. He could have remonstrated with Wall Street, and sought to rein in excess without Europeanizing the financial sector. He could have proactively reformed entitlements with bipartisan support, rather than, as will happen, drastically address them in the 11th hour. But then to do all that would be to assume he never went to Trinity Church, knew no Rev. Wright, Ayers, Khalidi, etc., did not run mysterious campaigns that eliminated opponents before the elections, was not the most partisan Senator in Congress, and avoided rather crude social and racial stereotyping while campaigning. Most who read this will not agree, given the mesmerizing effect of the Obama charisma. But in time, unless there are radical changes, I think the nation will come to learn that such talent was not put in service to our collective welfare.

Read the whole thing.  If you have the stomach for it.

The Civilization of Maxwell Bright

Frequent commeneter Dennis recommended I watch The Civilization of Maxwell Bright and it arrived in this weeks Netflix shipment.

This 2005 “Indie” was a little choppy, but quite enjoyable.  The title character is basically a total prick who has given up on American women after several relationships failed violently.  So, he procures a “mail order bride” from China.  They say a leopard doesn’t change his spots, but he is charmed by her demure Asian ways.  And she has her work cut out for her in trying to help him understand the error of his ways.

The film was actually quite charming.  Funny in places, if not a bit over the top.  I think I enjoyed watching the dynamics of the cultural differences between East and West in the realm of relationships.  Mrs. Bright is a devout Buddist and I really found the religious underpinnings in the story quite fascinating.

No big name stars in this movie, althought Carol Kane who I haven’t seen in forever, made a brief appearance.  The cinematography was crap, which was somewhat distracting.  Overall though, the story made this a nice way to spend the evening.  3+ stars out of 5.

More of the same

Ah, another Sunday morning.  Where does the time go?

I had a crap (meaning stressful) week at work.  Fighting with the CPAC and Corps of Engineers about the release date for one of my employees.  I think I have it resolved in that we will share her services until my new employee arrives next month.  What a pain in the ass.  It seems as quickly as I fill a vacancy, someone else departs.  I’m especially disappointed because I spent big bucks to bring this person over here just six months ago.  It’s a two year tour, but I expect at least one to get at least a minimal return on the investment.  I guess I could have been a hard ass about it, but frankly, if someone don’t want to here I’m not going to force them to stay.  Well, I guess in the big scheme of things if this is my biggest problem I should consider my self blessed. 

Nice night Friday with the darts.  First time I’ve thrown since Monday’s disaster in the championship game.  Next Saturday is the end of season tourney/awards banquet.

It rained all day yesterday so I just stayed in and vegatated for the most part.  But that’s good too.  Not much beats an afternoon nap on a rainy day, right?

I visited YJ in the hospital Thursday.  She’s getting better, but man she looked miserable.  Brought back unpleasant memories of my stay in the same hospital last year.  The boredom is mind numbing.  Hopefully never again for yours truly.  (crossing fingers)

And that’s the way it is here on the ranch.

Where’s Jenn?

Well, it’s not like that Looking for Waldo, crap. I reckon she’s still shaking things up in Ulsan. But if you are a regular reader of I Got 2 Shoes, you will have noticed it’s been a long time no post situation over there. Not to worry, I got an email from her today and she’s fine, just working hard these days. That and she finally took her computer to the shop for repairs. So, once she gets that back up and running we will have elimanated a primary excuse of hers for denying us all the pleasure of her with and wisdom. She’s also planning a trip to Seoul soon so perhaps she’ll have some adventures to write about. Bali Bali!