QA3

My 350th post. Where's my gold star? Any of you who've actually read all my posts get two.

1. will you be watching the Olympics this summer? Why or why not?

I imagine I'll be a casual watcher. I'll watch some events if they happen to be on, but I won't be glued to the TV. I'll pretend to care when Wifey wants to watch gymnastics, just like she tolerates the NBA.

Things I like about the Olympics.
1. These are the premier athletes competing at the premier sporting event in the world.
2. Exposure for sports you never hear of otherwise, track & field, swimming, archery, things that should be appreciated every four years.
3. Friendly national rivalries.
4. That whiny Olympic gymnast who stole a gold last time won't be around.

Things I don't like about the Olympics.
1. I can't tell who is or who is not on performance enhancing drugs anymore. It's hard to root for people and not be somewhat cynical.
2. Endless commercials with "officially" Olympic sponsors.
3. NBC's endless bio documentaries about what this athlete has had to overcome and the rah rah USA thing.
4. Opening and Closing ceremonies. Mind numbing boring.

2. you come across as very content guy - do you have any worries?
Well, I'm pretty blessed. For the most part, things are pretty good these days, but still I've got the same worries and insecurities as everyone else. I worry mostly about the things I can't control. I worry about the health of those I hold dear, I worry about money, I worry about a future where I can't feed myself and my kid can't afford to go to college. I worry about polar bears with no future. I worry about a country where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and no one cares. I worry about my relationship with God. It's all there. It's just under the surface.

3. name three things that really, really annoy you - explanation optional.

1. Hypocrisy- Be genuine, always.
2. Intolerance- Be kind, always.
3. The Wiggles

4. the mom from "weeds" or Bedie from "the wire"?

Bedie is a fine woman and I'm happy that she has a happy ending in the Series (at least as far as Season 4), but I must admit to a crush on Nancy Botwin. I've always been a fan of May-Louise Parker, but this is her best role ever. Smart, tough, yet vulnerable. Very endearing. Her kids are monsters. They don't deserve her.


5. I read once - "if you're not a liberal at age 20, you're heartless
- if you're not a conservative at age 40, you're brainless". Agree,
disagree?

I want to say this is from Winston Churchill, but I'm not sure and too lazy to search. I think I'd rewrite this as such, "If you're a conservative you're heartless and brainless."

People can go through all kinds of experiences in their lives. But the generalization that you become more cynical and your IQ goes up over time doesn't hold much water. I'm closer to the second number than tht first, and I don't think I've become less heartless or that I've somehow left my intellect by the curbside.

I'm sad for those that are heartless. I recently finished Obama's book about the Audacity of Hope and he spoke of an "empathy deficit". People so caught in the trappings of their own lives that they are incapable of any concern for anyone else. In large part, this is the problem.

When people look back at the last eight years of conversatism run wild in this country, I think they'll remember it as the time we let ourselves be run by idiots.