Fighting fire with fire

Cool!

My Feet Knew the Way

I used to be frustrated by the inevitability of waves.  I would hurl myself against them with all my strength, body slapping broad-side into the ambling hill of water, trying with all my might to make an example, set a precedent, assert my sentient dominance over the senseless redundancy of nature.  It was a battle of wills and I, being blessed with Will, was the clear favorite.

Naturally, I lost every time.  Each wave was followed inexorably by another, and red-chested and infuriated by the ocean’s indifference to my presence, I would gather myself for another offensive.

Tiring of this, I would alter my strategy and resign myself to building sandcastles with moats carefully situated just at the limit of the obliging tide; or constructing palaces for sojourning crabs, nomadic despots who would signal their gratitude for my hospitality with clumsy sideways curtsies.  Or something like that.

I was jealous of the older boys on their jet skis, their casual indifference to the forces that stymied me, skimming the surface like sleek cars on an undulating pavement, surgically slicing its skin, as unimpressed with their medium of travel as it was with me, their artificial waves trailing them, spreading out like a slow Japanese fan, criss-crossing at odd angles to their larger, slower cousins.

*          *          *          *          *

It’s been decades since I’ve been to the ocean, I realize as I leave the hospital in the cobalt light of the pre-dawn, but my feet remember the way.  With a nod to the stoic palms on Cass Street I turn left, and sand supplants cement.  I can’t feel its texture through my leather soles but it gives way deferentially under my weight.  I don’t break stride, even as the tiny waves make a play for my kneecaps.  When the water is deep enough I squat, submerging myself to the neck.

I am weightless.  I am a buoy.  The ocean cycles around me and through me and I am utterly unobtrusive.  It rocks me like a baby, lovingly indifferent to my will.  Tonight, I will dream of its momentum.

Word of the moment: Demonym

Demonym: the word you use to refer to somebody from someplace (eg., "American")

Monetizing this blog

Because it's really easy, I just added ads to my blog. I doubt that enough people read me for it to make a difference, but in case I end up making significant bank, here's what I'm going to do - at the end of each calendar year, I'll come up with a list of charities I think are worthwhile. I'll put it up to a vote, and donate 100% to that charity.

Disgusting example of theocratic misogyny

Don't let the opulence fool you - the UAE's legal system is as backwards as Pakistan's or Saudi Arabia's. Regime change is scary business, but that particular region of the world is in desperate need of a liberal movement. We can only hope that when the dust settles in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, Tunisia, and throughout the Mideast and Northern Africa, the paradigm will have shifted a few miles to the left.

EDIT: I just read this story about a Bengladeshi girl who, by decree of a local imam, and under the auspices of Sharia, was beaten to death at the age of 14. The crime, for which she received the capital punishment, was being raped by her married uncle. Yes, I phrased that correctly - she was murdered for being raped.

According to the article, such practices are illegal in Bangladesh, an ostensibly moderate Muslim nation. In light of my earlier post, I should stress that the ultimate source of this and related problems is an endemic perversion of values, as opposed to any particular governmental policy. The sweeping changes so desperately needed must therefore come from the ground up: it's a matter of attitude adjustment, not regime change.

Another reason to hate the TSA

Read this story about a woman fired by the TSA for her religious beliefs. Carole Smith was terminated at the end of a long chain of events set off by coworker Mary Bagnoli's report that "she was afraid of Smith because she was a witch who practiced witchcraft. She accused Smith of following her on the highway one snowy evening after work and casting a spell on the heater of her car, causing it not to work"

Which employee would you sack?

My favorite quotation, from the Wiccan (former) security agent herself: "We don't cast spells. That's not witchcraft. That's Black Magic or Voodoo or something else. to put a spell on the heater of a car, if I had that kind of power, I wouldn't be working for TSA. I would go buy lottery tickets and put a spell on the balls".

Donald Trump's surprisingly good idea

Even if it is a touch idealistic, I'm now going to pay attention to the man. As always, I respect stones.

Via Reddit: http://articles.cnn.com/1999-11-09/politics/trump.rich_1_donald-trump-trump-said-trump-trump-said-the?_s=PM:ALLPOLITICS


"It is a winwin for the American people, an idea no conventional politician would have the guts to put forward" - DT