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Thursday, September 11, 2003

Regrets...
I've had a few.
But then again,
Too few to mention!
--"My Way",
written by Paul Anka
When I hear that song, I think of Frank Sinatra, and sometimes Elvis or Sid Vicious -- all of whom have been known to perform, in their own unique manner, that wonderful song. Wonderful because -- though I don't always enjoy hearing it, I've heard it so much -- the song is a wonderful personal anthem. That's something we all need: a personal anthem. A song that praises our individuality; a mark of devotion to oneself. After all, they say you're going to have a helluva time loving anyone else unless you've first learned to love yourself, right?

This is not to replace your love for your God, or your spouse, or your family. I'm simply saying that we all need to give ourselves a bit more self-love at this time of year. (No, not that type of self-love !) Too many of us beat up on ourselves throughout the year, and then nearly destroy ourselves at year's end. No wonder there are so many suicides during the Holidays; the messages bombarding us are to Buy Buy Buy and to Give Give Give -- but what if you have nothing to give but love? If you have a dearth of that good stuff, then you'll have a bitch of a time spreading it around to your neighbors.

So be good to yourself, whether you're Christian, Pagan, Wiccan, Athiest, Hindu, Islamic, Mormon, Podcastin, or otherwise. Don't take the pills, they won't do you or anyone else any good; you'll simply miss out on the Next Big Thing (which may turn out to be Your Next Big Thing). Just do things your own way, singing that little hymn as you do so:
For what is a man,
What has he got?
If not himself,
Then he has naught.
To say the things,
He truly feels,
And not the words,
Of one who kneels.
The record shows,
I took the blows
And did it my way!

Monday, February 23, 2004

It's seems more and more politicians are expressing a complete disregard for any political machinations outside their own goal of electing their candidate for president. Take this marriage issue in San Francisco, for example. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Democratic strategist Garry South says the continuation of focus on this issue is "definitely not helpful to our cause, not for anyone who cares about beating George W. Bush in November".

Huh? Who said anything about your cause? This issue is about people's rights, not your stinkin' election.

Now, I will be fair here--I don't know the actual question that was posed to Mr. South. Perhaps the writer specifically asked him, "How does the gay marriage issue affect the election of your candidate?" In which case I would be tempted to ask the writer, why bring the matter up? This isn't an issue about the election--this is an issue about people. Individuals. This isn't an issue about election-year politics, although you're certainly helping to make it into one.

Of course, I don't know what the writer asked Mr. Stone, but what I do know, according to this article, is that Democratic leaders are upset--no, furious--about this issue's prominence at a time when they are selecting a candidate. As if the world revolved around their candidate selection process. (Sorry, sirs, the world will flare up from time to time, regardless of your controlling measures. Issues come up, and need to be dealt with. They don't have time to wait for your political maneuverings.)

Politicians are also furious about Ralph Nader's entry into the election fray, as if he's stepped in to throw a monkey wrench into the Democratic candidate's campaign. (Oh, get over it, will you? Quit blaming him for your election loss in 2000. You seem to forget that folks who voted for Nader weren't likely to vote for anyone else--that's right, neither party.) Ralph Nader doesn't have a personal vendetta for the Democratic Party; he has it out for both parties. That's his whole point.

I suppose these politicians get so caught up in their own "causes" that they forget to respond to the real issues, such as debates over people's rights in San Francisco and any citizen's right to campaign for presidency. Or perhaps they simply disregard these issues altogether. Either way, it's time for the pols to realize that the world spins on its own axis, and that their cause is not the only cause that matters.
posted by Harold  2/23/2004 10:52:00 AM
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I once posted, in this space (this right column), the following:

If I had friends they would be listed here

That particular bit o' text, that silly and idiotic phrase, was repeated a dozen or two dozen or so times and was intended to be temporary. I had been working on a project -- a new layout for this blog -- and had intended for that text to be placeholder content. That is, the text was supposed to temporarily replace the content that had previously occupied this column (which was a list of links to friends -- that is, other blogs and web sites I linked to). I didn't know what content I was going to place into that (this) space, so I placed a bunch of duplicate phrases here as a placeholder so that I would remember to fill in this space again later.

At the same time, I thought I was being cute with the heading:

NEW & IMPROVED FRIENDS!

The fact remains: I still don't know what content to put here, in this column. Links again? Pictures? Video? Audio? Ads? Oh, hell no! It hasn't come to me yet, but I'm sure it will eventually, and when it does it'll come quick and (as usual) with consequences.