Be Selfish


Someone (I thought it was Lefty, but I could be wrong) wrote down his or her personal mission statement, as it were, about who that person is. I’m thinking something along the lines of the famous What I Believe by Steve Martin, or maybe My Conviction from the Broadway musical Hair, a statement of beliefs. And since my birthday passed last month, now’s a good a time as any for mine.

Be selfish.
If you can’t find a good reason to do good, find a selfish one.
Don’t lie, not because it’s morally wrong, but because it’s just too inconvenient to keep track of.
Shovel your walk, clean up your property, not because it’s the neighborly thing to do, but you don’t want a summons from the city or a lawsuit.
Give blood for the free cookies.
Be a courteous driver because, if you end up in an accident, the paperwork alone will negate the time you saved running the red light.
Let people off the bus before you get on, because there will then be more room for you.
Be selfish. For everyone’s sake.

I need more, but that’s a first pass.
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BTW, the picture was inspired by someone – OK, Lefty’s wife – who takes a word, puts it in Google, and posts the image; the word here, of course, is selfish. The picture came from here. I don’t get it, but it’s so interesting that I couldn’t resist.
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Lefty reviews my Mixed CD. I think he liked it, but I’m not sure.
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Tosy accepts my mild tag.
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Spatula Formula, Nik’s “ramblings of an American expatriate in New Zealand”, turns three. Happy blogiversary.
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Did I mention I’m seeing Sean Lennon tonight? A review, eventually.

ROG

So I’m a Tree Hugger: Wanna Make Somethin’ Of It?

This is one of those things I got from Jaquandor who was practically apologetic about posting it, even though he thought it was pretty accurate. Well, I think this one’s pretty reflective of me, too.

What Be Your Nerd Type?

Your Result: Social Nerd

You’re interested in things such as politics, psychology, child care, and peace. I wouldn’t go so far as to call you a hippie, but some of you may be tree-huggers. You’re the type of people who are interested in bettering the world. You’re possible the least nerdy of them all; unless you participate in other activities that paled your nerdiness compared to your involvement in social activities. Whatever the case, we could still use more of you around. ^_^
Drama Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Literature Nerd
Musician
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type?
Quizzes for MySpace

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Johnny Hart died this weekend, apparently having a stroke while at his drawing board. I’ve long had mixed feelings about him. On one hand, growing up in Binghamton, Broome County, NY, not only did I read the strips B.C. and later The Wizard of Id for years, but I knew that Johnny Hart was from the area, a source of parochial local pride. The B.C. Open golf tournament, named for both the strip and the county, was aided by Hart, a big deal for the region. To this day, the early Wizard of Id joke, “The peasants are revolting!”/”They certainly are” produces an embarrassed chuckle; I always heard the king’s line in the voice of Henny Youngman or Rodney Dangerfield.
Eventually, though, I seemed to outgrow the strip at a point when Hart’s overt, and occasionally controversial, religiosity would creep into the strip.

Was this panel offensive to Islam? Was it supposed to be? To the latter point, I don’t know, and my homer mentally says I hope not.
Mark Evanier’s observations about Hart.

ROG

ROG

Lent’s Over Already?

At my current church, we used to have an associate pastor who I really liked. He was a pleasant person, but he described himself as a Lenten kind of guy. I think I can relate.

Easter’s great: Christ is risen, the core of the Christian faith. Yet, it is the period before Easter that somehow has always caused me more pleasure. Maybe it was the reflective nature, not so much the “giving up”” something, as I learned it in my childhood, but rather the taking on of something, whether it be a devotional or trying to think more of others.

Lenten music is also better than Easter music.

I found that I have agreed with George W. Bush, not once but twice this Lenten season – no, this is not an April Fools joke – and it was essentially based on him acting in what I would consider a Lenten manner.

One time as when he apologized for the dreadful conditions in parts of Walter Reed Hospital. You can see this as political expediency, and maybe it was, but I found it refreshingly different from his Decider mode.

The other time was when he participated in the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony Honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, when he essentially apologized for the indignities endured by these black fliers: “I would like to offer a gesture to help atone for all the unreturned salutes and unforgivable indignities.”

Of course, announcing my W support, in this limited context, at the Y, which was an attempt to show that even he isn’t all bad, merely helped crystalize the differences I had with another over foreign policy, which was not the intent of the comment, and I regretted the tone the conversation ended up taking..

More Lenten reflection is needed, I guess.
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Meanwhile, Good Friday service did not go well for me. I sang what I could, which was probably not much above an A below middle C. But by the fifth moment in the DuBois, I felt the need to cough uncontrollably. I stifled it as much as possible, then left at the end of the movement. Since I’m near the middle of the choir loft, there’s no way to do this unobtrusively, but I went out a side door that leads to the outside, came in another door, and listened to the rest of the service.
This event was:
*depressing – you work to learn the piece then you can’t sing it
*irritating – the body fails me
*embarrassing
I put my robe away, with about a dozen people saying, “Are you all right?” Well, apparently OK for talking, but not for singing. I left before talking to at least three old friends from my former church choir. (Sorry, Bob, Holly and Kathy.) I caught a bus home. The one good thing about is that was that I literally put out a fire someone had started in the bus kiosk.
ROG

ROG

Techno QUESTIONS

I saw this article a while back: “According to the Consumer Electronics Association, the average home has 26 consumer electronics devices — anything ranging from a radio to a PDA.” The writer decides the cellphone is the most important item he owns and would be the leasst likely to give up. Also, I read in Parade magazine this article in which the cellphone is on the Top 10 of the Most UNWanted Inventions.

So what devices do you have? What do you need? What would you give up? What would you couldn’t live without?

I have no cellphone, but I do have a phone that I can remove from the base, something my wise parents-in-law bought for us just after Lydia was born. Its best feature, though, is the homing device at the base which I push to find it. (I ‘d love that for the remote on the DVR.)

Have a DVR. Don’t NEED the DVR. I do like the DVR, a lot actually. Still have the VCR, which is good because I still have a bunch of VHS tapes, which the child watches on occasion.

I have a stereo with a turntable that’s in need of repair. The turntable operates only when I spin it manually, then it catches. I also have a 78 player in the attic in need of a cartridge. (Yes, I have 78s. No, I’m not THAT old. I was living in an apartment building, and the nice old ladies who lived upstairs gave them to me when we all got thrown out of the building so the landlords could renovate and go upscale.)

For me, I suppose, my technology keeper has become the computer. I communicate with it (e-mail and blog), I watch stuff on it (videos, though rarely), I listen to music on it (well, the one at work), I keep track of my schedule with those Windows pop-ups. I could watch TV on it, and did, a little, for college basketball.

What says you?
ROG

ROG

Not Such a Good Friday

I’m sitting in the choir loft last night, listening to the Passion reading from Luke as the lights get lower and lower, and suddenly get a vivid sensation about why I so oppose the death penalty: the execution of the innocent. It was a point I had reached intellectually before, but this was a more visceral understanding that I’m not sure I can explain.

In any case, I’m still feeling rather awful. Looking at computer screens is particularly not recommended, because everything looks fuzzy. So, I’ll be brief:

Thanks to Gordon for answering one of my questions,. One down, about a dozen to go. Microsoft Paint, eh?

Thanks to Scott for embracing his 2003-ness and citing me as the inspiration.

Congrats to Gay Prof for not having to go back to Texas, but will instead be at BMU.

Thanks to uberblogger Mark Evanier for posting a video AFTER I DID. This pleases me, and I’m not sure why. And thanks to Dan for sending it to me in the first place.

Thanks to Lefty’s Mixed CD pals, even Greg, and to little Stevie Brown, Lefty’s intelligent iPod.

Special thanks to ol’ what’s his name who I spoke to by phone yesterday for the first time in a while.

I’m going to rest most of the day so that I can try to sing tonight. I had about a six-note range last night, mostly in the lower register. Wish me luck.

ROG
Ramblin' with Roger
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