Sweet relief

It was a relief and a joy to take the trash out this morning. The cool morning air and drenching showers that followed were a sweet relief from the heat wave we've had of late.

In honor of today's rain, we bring you...

Song Of The Rain VII
by Khalil Gibran

I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven
By the gods. Nature then takes me, to adorn
Her fields and valleys.

I am beautiful pearls, plucked from the
Crown of Ishtar by the daughter of Dawn
To embellish the gardens.

When I cry the hills laugh;
When I humble myself the flowers rejoice;
When I bow, all things are elated.

The field and the cloud are lovers
And between them I am a messenger of mercy.
I quench the thirst of one;
I cure the ailment of the other.

The voice of thunder declares my arrival;
The rainbow announces my departure.
I am like earthly life, which begins at
The feet of the mad elements and ends
Under the upraised wings of death.

I emerge from the heard of the sea
Soar with the breeze. When I see a field in
Need, I descend and embrace the flowers and
The trees in a million little ways.

I touch gently at the windows with my
Soft fingers, and my announcement is a
Welcome song. All can hear, but only
The sensitive can understand.

The heat in the air gives birth to me,
But in turn I kill it,
As woman overcomes man with
The strength she takes from him.

I am the sigh of the sea;
The laughter of the field;
The tears of heaven.

So with love -
Sighs from the deep sea of affection;
Laughter from the colorful field of the spirit;
Tears from the endless heaven of memories.

tagged: rain, weather, poetry, Khalil Gibran, heat

Was Wally World closed?

I hear there's some pretty heavy shit going down in Lebanon these days. I'm trying to feel bad about it. But it's hard.

It seems like this fighting has been going on in some form or another since before I was born. I'm just so used to it that it really doesn't seem like news anymore. Sure, it's a little "hotter" now, what with Hisbollah now lobbing bombs back at Israel instead of just suicide bombing them.

It's just too bad innocent foreigners are getting caught up in it this time. But then again, it seems like Americans in particular should know better than to hang out in that part of the world.

I don't really get why people would want to vacation in Lebanon in the first place. Sure, it's nice to visit the ancestral homeland. But COME ON! There are just some places you don't go if you want to stay out of trouble. Lebanon and East Kansas City are two of those places.

It's not like there aren't other vacation spots. I hear Las Vegas is lovely this time of year or there's always a crass Caribbean all-inclusive resort.

Look, if we learned anything from Jim Croce, it's that you don't pull on Superman's Cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the ol' Lone Ranger and you don't vacation in a Middle East war zone.

tagged: Lebanon, Hizbollah, Hezbollah, Israel, vacation, war, Jim Croce

Double chicken noodle

So I had a conference call scheduled over lunchtime today, which means I had to be back in by cube by 12:30 p.m. to call in.

The big downer to this situation was that I was forced to go to the corporate cafeteria for lunch, as opposed to going off-site. I typically leave the corporate HQ for lunch because the cafeteria is horrible. There's rarely anything I want to eat. I always lose my appetite when I go there. I literally would rather eat a pre-fab sandwich from the convenience store than eat at the cafeteria (and I have, many times).

But today, I was forced by time constraints to dine at the cafeteria -- which is in another building. So I leave my building and walk out into the 100-degree heat. I make it gasping and sweating into the cafeteria. At least the AC works there.

I browse through the food choices (a futile effort since the choices are the same as the last time I was here... and the time before that... etc.)

I finally rule out everything in the cafeteria. The pizza is dry, the burgers are greasy, the pot roast is just too heavy and the baked fish looks like it was baked on the sidewalk outside. I'd opt for the pre-packaged sushi, but it looks like it was packaged in San Francisco the week before and it costs eight bucks.

My last resort is the soup kettle. At least I'll be able to choke it down quickly. I fill a styrofoam cup with double chicken noodle, pay a five-spot for the soup and a soda and head back to my building.

So there I am, sweating like Ken Lay on the witness stand because it's hotter than Satan's balls outside, carrying a nice warm cup of soup for my lunch.

If it weren't so bloody hot and humid, it might be funny.

tagged: heat, weather, hot, lunch, soup, sushi, Ken Lay, Satan

Congrats MM

A good friend of mine announced a couple of weeks ago that she will soon be a first time mom.

I couldn't be happier for her and her husband. I'm not so far removed from that same moment in my life (first learning about impending parenthood) that I don't remember the excitement tinged with anxiety. Actually, to be honest I remember the first few days after learning about the upcoming child were filled with abject terror.

But that soon wore off and the excitement took over as we started making plans, painting the nursery, buying baby supplies, visiting doctor and seeing the sonograms. A friend told me at the time that it would change my life -- for the better. I believe it has.

So please take a moment to go congratulate MM at Suddenly Three. She learns the big boy-or-girl question today. Then, I assume, we'll all be given a chance to suggest names.

tagged: pregnancy, baby, congratulations, life

Response to a response to a response

We've got a good discussion on the estate tax going, so I wanted to post a response to Dan's response to my response to his original post, and I wanted to do it in a new post to it wouldn't get buried.

First let me say that I know Dan doesn't hate rich people. I was trying to be tongue-in-cheek in a Kanye West kind of way. In actuality, I don't think Dan hates anybody, with the possible exception of Ann Coulter (but he wouldn't be alone in that).

Next, Dan asserts that money is the main thing in taxation discussion. I'm not so sure I agree with that. I think good tax policy and fairness as well as the impact of taxation on the general economy are very important. Money is important in the way it is spent by the government, and I think we both agree that spending has been pretty egregious for a long time.

Next, with all due respect to Dan, the comment that neither Bill Gates nor Warren Buffett opposes the estate tax seems to be a non sequitur. After all, Gates is in favor of spyware, but that doesn't make it right.

Dan says he doesn't care about the study cited. This is odd because, upon further reflection I think it might support the estate tax from his point of view. If the primary purpose of the estate tax is the redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor, this study would seem to indicate that this purpose is being achieved.

Next, I agree that taxation is applied to nearly all economic transactions. My concern is that we'll get to a point where taxation is being applied to non-economic transactions (i.e., dying).

And, Dan has an excellent point that putting tax money into a separate fund isn't workable. Much like the "social security trust fund" myth, all tax money is "fungible." So unless we could put the proceeds from all estate taxes into a super scholarship fund, my plan just wouldn't work. I hereby "take it back".

Dan is also right that we need to take a look at the current estate tax from a tax policy standpoint. My big objection to the current estate tax it that it is an attempt to shift the tax burden to fewer people -- and thus is not "fair."

In fact, I think it might be more fair to do away with the estate tax and institute some kind of inheritance tax (I read an article on this a few months ago, and if I could remember the source I would link it). In this plan, anyone who received inheritance income would be taxed according to their normal tax bracket.

The key difference between the estate tax and an inheritance tax is that with an estate tax, the tax owed is determined by the size of the estate when someone dies. The heirs are responsible for the entire tax bill. With an inheritance model, the heirs only pay taxes on the income that they receive from the estate.

And, if this were expanded to all estates (not just the richest), the rate could be lowered from 60% (or whatever the current level is), to the standard 0%-35%.

The bottom line is that class warfare shouldn't determine tax policy. Fairness and efficiency should.

tagged: death, tax, inheritance, fair, property rights, education, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, economy

YouSued

In yet another entry this YouTube Tuesday we learn from the Hollywood Reporter that YouTube has been sued by the the copyright holder of news footage from the 1992 LA Riots.

When I first started YouTube Tuesdays, I remarked that...

"I think it's about the coolest thing going on the web right now, which means it won't be long before some bastard lawyer with a DRM comes along a puts the kibosh on the whole thing."

Let's hope YouTube is able to fend off this lawsuit. Their defense will likely be that they merely provide the medium and that the content on their sites can be neither copied nor downloaded.

It would be a shame if YouTube is shut down. It's one of the last sources of original video content.

tagged: movie, YouTube, video, TV, consumer generated media, lawsuit, LA Riots, Hollywood Reporter

YouTube killed the video star

Incidentally, on this YouTube Tuesday, a couple of recent developments.

1. YouTube announced this week that it now serves more than 100 million video streams a day. There were 2.5 billion (with a "B") videos watched on YouTube last month and 65,000 videos are now uploaded to YouTube every day.
   
2. The Associated Press reported that the big four TV networks have experienced plummeting ratings. In fact, they recently experienced "their least-watched week in recorded history."

   CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox averaged 20.8 million viewers during the average prime-time minute last week, according to Nielsen Media Research. That sunk below the previous record, set during the last week of July in 2005.

I'm not really surprised. There are no original ideas on TV (how many freakin' CSIs and Laws & Orders do we need!)*. Meanwhile, there is tons of great creativity going on in the "Consumer Generated Media" universe (blogs included).


*Yes, I am aware that today's edition of YouTube Tuesday is from VH1, directly contradicting this statement. Meh, what can ya gonna do?

tagged: movie, YouTube, video, TV, consumer generated media, ratings, CSI, Law & Order

YouTube Tuesday: Breathe in the air

As I posted last week, the music world lost a creative genius with the death of Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett.

Although I obviously didn't know him personally, I suspect that it was a sort of sweet release for Barrett, fell into madness and depression in the late 1960s. Barrett was the Icarus of the British psychedelic scene. Some say he went too far with his experimentation with mind altering drugs. History would seem to support this.

His bandmates, though they couldn't get along with each other, universally loved him. This showed in their recordings over the years, including the magnum opus Dark Side of the Moon.

In this week's edition of YouTube Tuesday, Barrett's bandmates talk about his creative influence on their work.


tagged: movie, YouTube, video, music, Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon, culture

FWD: A puma by any other name

I received this email chain via my Supermodel Wife from CDH, a friend of ours who lives a mile or so away in northern O.P.

RE: Mountain lion in our neighborhood...

Or cougar, puma, whatever they're called in these parts. Maddie chased one out of the neighbor's yard over the weekend, and C. heard one last night (he thinks a small dog was on the losing end of an encounter). Both times have been around 11 pm each night. Keeps your eyes and ears open, and keep an eye on those critters of yours when they go out at night!

I just called OP Animal Control, and they have received several reported sightings, but [no] actual confirmation (by them, police, wild life & parks, etc.).

Family Friend K:

Good to know, but I think Herschel might be able to hold his own - Supermodel Wife can probably vouch for that too! He was talking loud enough to a giant possum a couple of weeks ago that I had to open the door and check out the commotion....

Supermodel Wife:

You're really serious about this? A mountain lion in town in OP??? Not a wildcat but a full fledged cougar?

They say pumas tend to stay away from dogs, so yeah, Herschel should be okay...

Family Friend CDH:

That's what C. described it as...about the same size as Maddie, rounded head, long tail, light tan color. Maddie started barking at it and it ran off. C. thought she was just barking at a dog, but he said the critter ran like a cat, not a dog.

I called OP Animal Control, and the guy said several people have called over the passed few weeks with cougar/puma sightings in Northern OP, but nothing has been officially confirmed yet. All the same, we keep a very close eye on Maddie when we let her out for her last tinkle of the night. She seemed to know something, other than our friendly neighborhood rabbits, was in the neighbor's yard.

So what's new with you? I meant to call you the other night just to chat, but I fell asleep (my Mexico vacation was relaxing but tiring at the same time - thanks to hot temperatures, high humidity, and a rooster named Raul).

tagged: Kansas, Overland Park, puma, cougar, mountain lion, wildlife

Celebrate

It's July 14, Bastille Day, and (at last check) there's an American leading the Tour de France -- again.

There are lots of other reasons to celebrate. It's not snowing in Kansas, college football kicks off in about a month and a half, I'm heading to the golf course this weekend and the beer is cold.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate all this good fortune that to throw a carnival. A blog carnival.

So join me, won't you? Head over to Blog Meridian and submit your favorite blog posts from this week. John B. hosted last week and did a helluva good job.

Be sure to get your submission in by Sunday afternoon, then check back Monday for the best blogs in the Sunflower State.

tagged: Kansas, blog, blogger, carnival, KGB