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Natal day, again

On a birthday we do not say: “Thanks for what you did, or said, or accomplished.” No, we say: “Thank you for being born and being among us.”

I take my birthday off from work each year, and today is no exception. Likewise, the blog.

I have, in the past, and will again this year, quote a section from one of my favorite books, Here and Now: Living in the Spirit by Henri J.M. Nouwen, a Canadian theologian who died in 1996. (Copyright 1994, published by The Crossroad Publishing Company.)

I share this passage about birthdays, not only for my sake but, I hope, for yours as well:

Birthdays need to be celebrated. I think it is more important to celebrate a birthday than a successful exam, a promotion, or a victory. Because to celebrate a birthday means to say to someone: “Thank you for being you.” Celebrating a birthday is exalting life and being glad for it. On a birthday we do not say: “Thanks for what you did, or said, or accomplished.” No, we say: “Thank you for being born and being among us.”
…
Celebrating a birthday reminds us of the goodness of life, and in this spirit, we really need to celebrate people’s birthdays every day, by showing gratitude, kindness, forgiveness, gentleness, and affection. These are ways of saying: “It’s good that you are alive; it’s good that you are walking with me on this earth. Let’s be glad and rejoice. This is the day that God has made for us to be and to be together.

Comments policy

Don’t be a schmuck. If you act like a schmuck in the comments, as defined by me, I won’t post your comment and you will have wasted more of your time writing the comment than my time in deleting it.


Here I am, just a couple months short of six years of blogging, and I’m reading where Wayne John thinks all bloggers should have a blogging policy. He’s probably right, but I cannot get very excited about it; i.e, the topic bores me. In all the time I’ve been blogging here, including the Blogger iteration, I have deleted exactly ONE comment that wasn’t spam. It was a nasty remark about a picture of a dear friend I had posted; I didn’t like it, and I took it down.

The Akismet on the WordPress blog is really good at catching spam, and I approve every comment anyway these days; ultimately, it’s just easier. I receive an e-mail when I get a comment and respond as soon as possible. I also check the Akismet to make sure it doesn’t reject real posts; it used to do it a lot, especially to a couple of ABC Wednesday people. And particularly entertaining spam I just might let slip through.

Some bloggers rail against the one-line comment; I guess I’d rather people say one line they really mean than three lines trying to meet some arbitrary threshold.

Except through the spam, I just don’t seem to get a lot of irrelevant links that people want to post here.

Wayne John linked to this article, which reads in part: It is also a “responsibility statement”. It informs the reader of what you will allow on your blog, what you will not allow, and what they are allowed to do. It establishes publicly the responsibilities of each party involved.

In a related link, there’s a list of no-nos.
is abusive – well, OK, but then I have to go define that
is off-topic – on another blog I have people go off-topic all the time; actually, it can be quite informative and entertaining
contains ad-hominem attacks – same as “abusive”
promotes hate of any kind – I’m against hate, but I find the notion overly broad
uses excessive vulgarity – this would involve me having to definite both vulgarity AND its excess
is spam – previously addressed

OK. In the spirit of that paragraph, here is my policy:

Feel free to comment on my blog. I love it when you comment on my blog. Besides self-expression, that’s the reason I write a blog – to get reactions.

So don’t be a schmuck. If you act like a schmuck in the comments, as defined by me, I won’t post your comment and you will have wasted more of your time writing the comment than my time in deleting it.

That’s my policy. What’s yours?

And do I really need a paragraph (freely stolen) like this?
By submitting a comment on Roger’s blog, you agree to hold this site, its owner Roger Green, and all future subsidiaries and representatives harmless from any and all repercussions, damages, or liability. Roger reserves all rights of refusal and deletion of any and all comments and trackbacks. This policy may be amended at any time.

If so, then that, too.

On the other hand, I have actually made more money on this blog in 2011 than I had in the previous 5.5 years (which is to say, zero) from a small stipend I get from posting those infographics. Truth is that I would have likely posted them anyway, for nothing (and actually have), if not here then on another blog I write for. Still, in keeping with the spirit of the FTC disclosure rules, there it is.

Hitching a ride QUESTIONS

The Kunstlercast podcast talked about something called “slugging” which is a currrent organized hitchhiking experience in the metro Washington, DC area.


I was listening to a podcast called the KunstlerCast a couple of weeks ago. Writer James Howard Kunstler was talking with Duncan Crary about hitchhiking. Made me all nostalgic, but I thought, “I just talked about the topic a few months ago.” Turns out it was over a year and a half ago. And I didn’t ask YOU any questions.

First hitchhike: in 1970, from Binghamton to New Paltz, NY to visit my girlfriend at the time. One starts on a major highway (Route 17), but then take a series of lesser roads (Route 52, Route 209, Routes 44/55, then finally to Route 299)
Last hitchhike: In 1979, discussed previously. And by 1980, I was working regularly enough to afford the bus.
Easiest: discussed.
Scariest: ditto.
Hassled by the police: a few times. The one time that sticks in my mind was hitching from New Paltz to Philadelphia, maybe in 1976. I got stopped by the police in New Jersey and they asked me for my ID. As it turned out, and I didn’t know it at the moment, I had lost my wallet in a previous car I had ridden in. The one cop said he could arrest me for not having identification. I repeated that I had had ID but I had evidently left it in someone’s vehicle – even as my inner dialogue was saying, “Gee, officer, What do you want me to DO about it? I don’t have it, dammit!” Naturally, my outer voice was MUCH more polite, and they let me go. BTW, I DID get the wallet, mailed back to me, intact.
Who tended to pick me up: usually guys about 10-20 years older than I was. They often had hitched themselves, and most of them had been in the military, a few from Vietnam, but mostly Korean war and other post-WWII soldiers. Frankly, I was always surprised when women picked me up, at least one with children in the back seat.

Have you ever hitchhiked? What were your experiences in terms of when, where, and why? Did you ever pick up hitchhikers, and what were your experiences?

The aforementioned podcast talked about something called “slugging” which is a current organized hitchhiking experience in the metro Washington, DC area. People need rides because the train stops are too far apart. Car drivers need riders so they can get to work faster, on those lanes designated for cars with multiple passengers. Voila – using GPS and cellphones, people make a mutually beneficial connection. Very civilized.

I used this before, but here again, is Sweet Hitch Hiker – Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Liar

I’ve been long fascinated with lying. One of the most significant books that I’ve ever read was Lying by Sissela Bok, who makes the point that there are moral consequences of lying, even for a good cause.

I almost started watching Lie To Me, that FOX show about this guy who can always discern a liar. Almost everyone believes they recognize a liar, but listening to some of the political discourse, I’m not convinced of that.

Surely, American jurisprudence is based heavily on the notion that the jury can tell who’s lying and who is not. And it’s scary; I find that, particularly in periods of stress, I engage in behaviors commonly associated with lying, such as repeating the questioners words, so that I am not misunderstood. This is especially true when asked a question is asked negatively: “Isn’t it true that…?”

The Three Dog Night song Liar:
Video
Lyrics

Beatles Island Songs, 63-54

Peter Fonda was apparently involved.


JEOPARDY! answers (questions at the end)

THEY COVERED THE BEATLES $200: Tiffany was just 17 when she hit the top 10 with a reworked version of this Beatles song
THEY COVERED THE BEATLES $400: This duo had only just begun when they covered “Ticket To Ride” in 1970
THEY COVERED THE BEATLES $600: “We Can Work It Out” worked out to be one of the songs of his 1970 album “Signed, Sealed & Delivered”
THEY COVERED THE BEATLES $1000: Written in 1966, this song was a Top 10 hit from the Beatles in 1976 & for Earth, Wind & Fire in 1978
THEY COVERED THE BEATLES $4,000 (Daily Double): This singer got by with a 1968 version of a Beatles song.
***
Peacock Lennon haunts the Beatles.

Paul McCartney has written a major orchestral work for the New York City Ballet, “Ocean’s Kingdom,” to be performed on Sept. 22..

Paul Isn’t Bothered by Artists Remixing and Mashing-Up Beatles Music

5 Reasons George Harrison Might Be the Greatest Beatle, which concentrates on his post-Beatles work
***
The rules of engagement

63 Tell Me What You See from Help! (UK), Beatles VI (US). Fondness for this McCartney song is the harmony over the title and the almost Latin flavor of the bridge.
62 If I Needed Someone from Rubber Soul (UK), Yesterday and Today (US). The “If” makes all the difference in this Harrisong, that and great harmonies.
61 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Julian Lennon’s friend Lucy, about whom John wrote, died recently.
60 Love Me Do, A-side of single. The first single, simple song. McCartney sings the end parts alone because Lennon is busy playing the harmonica.
59 Tell Me Why from A Hard Day’s Night (UK & US), Something New (US). Like this Lennon song from the intro. Also reminds me of a harmony that my sister Marcia added to it in the day.
58 I Want to Tell You from Revolver. Love the intentional distortion in this Harrisong.
57 She Said She Said from Revolver. Lennon weirdness; Peter Fonda was apparently involved.
56 Hello, Goodbye from Magical Mystery Tour. It’s a simple McCartney song, but the countermelody late, and the out-of-the-blue ending makes it.
55 I’m Only Sleeping from Revolver (UK), Yesterday and Today (US). Mood set well by Lennon.
54 What You’re Doing from Beatles for Sale (UK), Beatles VI (US). Many fine elements in this McCartney song, not the least of which is the great instrumental bridge.

What is “I Saw Her Standing There”?
Who were The Carpenters?
Who was Stevie Wonder?
What was “Got To Get You Into My Life”?
Who was Joe Cocker?

Ramblin' with Roger
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