Random Thoughts.....on or near my 50th birthday

My 50th birthday was January 9th. I was going to wax philosophical that day, but instead I broke my twelve day blogging streak, and then went into a several day blogging slump. It was probably caused by ending my "law as business" ranting, thinking I'd be profound on my big day, and then realizing that its easier to talk biz than personal. So, six days late, here's what I think about a few things:

Four of my proudest accomplishments: I have never seen a moment of American Idol, Survivor, Desperate Housewives or Grey's Anatomy. This will be an easy streak to maintain.

I was once in a cult for a weekend (long story, I'll tell it some other time). I did not join, BUT I got one useful phrase that I have used many times when confronting long entrenched, apparently unsolvable problems. This is it...."Everything that happened, is just a bunch of stuff that happened, everything else is SPIN".

I love to read, but I have a variation that really enhances the expereience. I like to read books that have been made into movies, especially if I have not yet read the book or seen the movie. Then I like to read the book and rent the movie right after. BTW, I did this with "Fight Club", initially because someone recommended the movie as something "different, not what you think its gonna be". So, I read the book, which was amazing (and discovered an author I now read, Chuck Palahniuk), and followed it up with this great movie. If you have never seen it, try it and let me know what you think.....I did not see it for years because it did not seem like "my kind of movie", but it's creative and thought provoking. Even better, read the book first. A few that I have done this with are "Sideways", "High Fidelity", "Election", "CiderHouse Rules" and "Angela's Ashes".

Speaking of movies, my favorite baseball movie is Bull Durham.

My favorite movie of all, though, is Groundhog Day. I have come to learn that I am not the only one, and I will make a blog entry about Groundhog Day on 2/2, which is also my brothers birthday. Here's a link to a site which talks about Groundhog Day, and has a link to other Groundhog Day material.... http://www.schindler.org/psacot/20010813_ghd.shtml

From personal experience and careful observation, there IS an epidemic of autism and related disorders going on, and it probably is related to vaccines. I would not give two cents for any government sponsored "studies" showing the contrary.

The Iraq war will go down in history as the worst foreign policy blunder in U.S. history. If the powers that be actually believe the justifications they gave (that by removing Saddam we'd set the stage for democracy etc.), then they are delusional. If there other nefarious business reasons, then they are butcherous liers. Choose your poison.

I don't like political labels. People should think and have opinions based on ideas. If someone goes with their party, I don't give much credibility to their positions. I used to enjoy Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, when their ideas seemed to confront the liberal boobs with the fallacy of their positions. Unfortunately, they have now become the exact things they used to rail against, and you have to check your brain at the door to listen to them. They are not interesting, or fun, or entertaining, unless you like being at a pro-government rally. I listen to a guy named Lionel, on WOR-AM, usually around 10 PM. Here's his site http://www.lionelonline.com/ Check him out and let me know what you think.

Diet soda makes people fat. It also CANNOT be healthy, and this should not be a surprise to anyone.

Am I the only person who remembers what Jesse Jackson used to talk about when he was first on the political scene? When he used to say that responsibility rests with families, and if people were going to advance it had to start THERE, at home, with family values and religion and spirituality. His message was identical to what we would now call Republican religious fundamentalism. What evil forces threw out that message, and made him the spokesman for government largesse as a political movement?

I don't care much for lawyer jokes, even though I will laugh at a good one. Its the assumptions behind the jokes that irk me. Most lawyers I know are hard working, decent people, who contribute to society in a positive way. To the extent there are greedy, lecherous lawyers out there (and I don't deny there are some), this is a reflection of a greedy, lecherous populace.

There should be a rule that families can take their kids to Disneyland, or world, or whatever it is, ONCE. The other times you go on vacation, DO SOMETHING ELSE. See some sights, take hikes, go to restaurants in a new city, let kids see what gownups do on vacation, so they don't think that what grownups do on vacation is "take kids to Disney".

If your child got a college scholarship for "cheerleading", would you tell anyone about it?

High school and college kids should work at part-time jobs. I'm not saying it should be a law, I'm suggesting their parents should recognize the immense value in this experience, and encourage them to work. It helps a young person value their education, to understand the business world, to learn discipline, and to respect all kinds of people. In high school I worked in the local dry cleaners (making deliveries, working the counter, and putting plastic bags on garments). During college I worked in a leather warehouse in lower Manhattan, mostly loading and unloading trucks with "men". I also worked at a temp agency, where we were assigned to a different office almost every day. In my present office, I have interviewed new lawyers whose first job, OF ANY KIND, was the one they were applying for with me. What were they and/or their parents thinking?

The weakest word a person can use is "should". The strongest word is "YET".

Is anybody reading my blog? Comments are welcome.

Next entry....back to perils of real estate.....part 3