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I think Trump is going to win.

There is no reasonable way he should, but I believe he will. I think we’ve reached that point of bounce back where the GOP (which is reduced to about 25% of the nation these days but a much larger percentage of the vote) will piggyback on the people disenchanted with Obama (for some failed promise or another). Trump is a pompous asshole who believes his brash talk and self assuredness is not only the way to go but excites people to the point that they actually support him.

Some do. Most don’t IMHO, but we live in a media-driven world that really cannot get enough of the dude. Without Trump the GOP race is boring. There are 18 other candidates that aren’t the least bit interesting. We hire people because of what they represent and so much time is spent blowing everything about this dude out of proportion that it has become a lead story (if not THE led story) on every channel. No matter what the dude says, he gets press and more and more people become polarized about him.

I think he is going to win by a landslide because people are jaded on the Clintons (as a symbol), jaded on the Republican Party, and completely obsessed with sound bytes and people who are going to ‘set it off’ in a way that is sadly and darkly reminiscent of Islamist extremists. Think about it: How do they recruit? They prey on fear and poverty. They prey on the idea that some outside entity is going to take away what little rights and possessions you have… It sounds like politics to me.

Some Thoughts:

1. This article about Trump sums up how most people feel about this situation.
2. I’m looking forward to seeing what the new Daily Show will be like. The show is set to premiere on Sep. 28th. Trevor Noah, do your thang!

Note: I was AFK yesterday and this unable to post. I figured I post what I wrote yesterday before I write tonight…

A long time ago, back when Rand was a name you’d expect to find in a Jeremy Piven comedy and not in a serious contender for the presidency, we used to be a nation that could make fun of itself. I remember those days. I remember them being as recent as the birth of ‘The Apprentice’ as opposed to a time where that man was leading the polls for the presidency. This time before feels like nostalgia to me, solely because I was a different person then. I was young enough to still capture the idea that America the Beautiful was a country that wanted to make the world a better place and not a country that wanted to give the world more profitable corporate structures. I guess I’ve become jaded or perhaps even more of a realist about the capitalist system.

 

Here’s a fact: we are a country that puts itself above all else. While we have our flaws and our problems they are best not spoken about by other countries because we will not tolerate anyone talking down to us. We are a nation that preaches freedom of religion—so long as your religion doesn’t seem to have a fundamental problem with us (in which case you will get bombed by unmanned orbital deathstalkers and then we will arm your opposers and leave it to them to light you up).

 

We are a country that expects to rule the world both economically and militarily and, of course, we do. This is the gift of the United States—a country that has the power and audacity to call itself America, ignoring the multitude of foreign nations attached to the continents.

 

Here is the kicker: I say such things about the nation not because I hate it, but because I love it and with all things I love, I want to be honest about who and what they are. For all of these flaws I illustrate, for all of the caricatures of ourself that we perpetrate we are still an incredible nation of people who give so much to this reality and always will.

1. Getting your mind and heart and health right requires sleep. I do no such thing. The past few nights have not been sleep filled and I need to curb that flowering habit right away. I can feel my body saying terrible things to me under it’s breath.
2. Ramping up for school for me means really cleaning up the piles of drek littering my home. I make these piles with the intention of returning to them and getting organized. of course, that never really happens and they remain untended piles of drek in need of culling.
3. I think I am being hacked by Chinese cyber warriors. If I disappear from the net, I’m sorry for whatever I did to torque them off…
4. I put capital letters in weird places and I’m okay with it. I have noticed a tendency to do that in my titles thus far and it is just one of those curiosities… like the Crystal Skulls.
5. The Giants are horribly cursed. Every year there are injuries to key players. Last night they lost both new safeties, leaving the team to wonder who is actually going to pass defend?

A friend reminded me some time ago that there will come a point where my body (and subsequently mind) will no longer get into shape at the rate it used to if at all. I fear that moment is swiftly approaching. I feel that I need to uncover the motivation to take action, but I’ve been highly unsuccessful so far. It could be I’m going about things the wrong way. Setting workout goals and fiending for a Summer 2016 beach body isn’t productive. Slowly I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m 40 (ancient in athletic terms) and am realizing that any growth must be a holistic activity that starts with finding balance and completeness in my lifestyle.

I’d love to say I came to this on my own but that isn’t true. I’ve been nudged time and again by many friends who would love to see me lead a healthier lifestyle. They would, for example, like to see me sleep more than 2-4 hours a night. They openly call for a reduction in the processed sugar yummies that saturate my home and gut on a daily basis. A life routine that involves regular exercise is a commonly heard suggestion. It is often accompanied by the suggestion that trying to race into a 60-days to fitness model is less than productive. I’m listening. I have to come to things on my own and develop them in my own time. Nudges help. They get me moving in a greater than elderly pace.

Some Thoughts:

1. Recorded both the Jets and Giants games. I got a chance to watch the Jets and was extremely excited–about the Lions offense. The Jets looked like they were not ready to play football. The disfunction of a few key players is pervading the locker room. Fix it, coach!
2. Got to watch my son’s coach take his older team (High School) unto the field tonight. By half time it was clear that the Pumas owned Imagine Schools. 26-6, with the 6 being the result of cockiness and lazy play from a team that was so far up they couldn’t see any chance of Imagine touching them.

The day of drafting draws near and I, lowly football lover am thrust into a moment of gambling glee. Fantasy Football is something that, ten years ago, I would have called very stupid. Now it is a way beyond the video game for an aging athlete to interact with the game. Let’s be real, some folks stay in the game through their kids. It becomes very obvious early on that the kid is a conduit for their own love. I’ve treaded dangerously close to that line time and again, often reminding my kids they could quit the game as a way to remind myself it isn’t about me. Fantasy is all about me and my ability to read the situation accurately.

The situation, as it were, is as complex as it is fluid. Nowadays you have to think about schedules, player contracts, police records, and more. The balance of so many factors is a slippery slope, so much so that there is no possibility that the fantasy game is rigged.

So with a fair game, how do I fare? Not great lately. This is about putting in the time and critical thinking and in order to win you gotta do both. You also need a small bit of luck. I mean, who predicted Jonas Gray would run for like a million yards in three games?

 

Some Thoughts:

1. Marg Hellenberger is kinda odd. Her level of plastic surgery makes her appear very inhuman. Now, I can only imagine what it is like for someone to have to kiss her on screen and feign deep attraction.

I fell into a wonderful book by Paolo Bacigalupi called The Water Knife. Paolo B. is known for books such as Shipbreaker and The Windup Girl. The Water Knife strikes a lot closer to home by creating a world in the none too distant future where water is fiercely scarce to the point where states are fighting each other over water rights and cities are drying up in the desert heat. Water Knives are the ‘fixers’ who go into a city, bribe all the officials and gather all the info they can about the water the city gets. The Knives do more as well. Often they are employed to blow up water treatment plants and dams, effectively ending the cit’s access to water.

The story unfolds as a mystery surrounding a death and some high level information the dead man was privy to. I’ve thought about using it for a class or two in the spring because the book references several real texts about water scarcity in the midwest. Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Desert in particular is an eye-opening look at how unsustainable desert life is.

This is particularly important to me as a reader, because I live in the desert. While the book goes to extremes in terms of corruption (okay, maybe not THAT extreme, I mean this is Phoenix after all… we are on our third uncorrupt Governor), but the deep and important message is that the water cannot last.

So, what to do with this information?

This isn’t a blog about football but it involves football players. By now the news waves are flooded with the sad tale of Geno Smith. The erstwhile quarterback of the NY Jets was involved in a locker room altercation with a teammate. Now there are some facts and sociological rules to put in place before I tell you what happened. Fact: at the time Smith was the starting QB for the Jets. He was a second round draft pick and tapped to be the leader of the franchise. Sociological Rule: The QB is a team’s lifeblood. Nobody touches the QB. Fact: a backup linebacker dropped Geno Smith with one punch in plain view of his team mates. Nobody hit that dude back.

How can we rationalize that rule with those facts? Upon closer inspection I learned that the altercation began over a failed appearance at a football camp. He made a promise to appear and then didn’t. As a result the ‘puncher’ looked bad. He in turn asked Geno to pay the $600 he was out because Geno didn’t do what he said he would. After a few weeks of Geno not paying, the player confronted Geno. Words were exchanged. At some point Geno apparently stood up and walked over to the other guy, a Linebacker 1.5 times his size, and put a finger in the man’s face. Geno Smith was punched so hard that his jaw was broken in two places. One punch. This was not a sucker punch as is being sensationalized. This was a reaction. This was a reaction that ignored a lot of social rules. My question is, how did it happen?

I think it boils down to immaturity and an inability to lead. Peyton Manning would never ever get punched out in his own locker room. Geno’s issues are clearly on display when you consider what both he and his attacker tweeted out after the incident. Smith’s attacker, who was fired, tweeted a major apology. Smith snapped a selfie with the tagline ‘I’ll be back‘. This is pure and unavoidable evidence of the man’s immaturity and inability to handle such a public job. This is further evidenced by the fact that no one stopped the attack. Once the altercation heated up, someone should have stopped it. There were several witnesses who spoke under conditions of anonymity, because nobody wanted to admit that they were there and did not act. If they did not act, there are deeper issues at play here. Geno was allowed to be hit.

Some Thoughts:

1. 2014 was the most difficult year of my life. Between dealing with the emotional fallout of deaths over the two previous years and the incredible heartache of divorce, I just broke. My teaching suffered. My writing suffered even more. I am making the best of a 2015 recovery, but I vow that 2016 will bring me to new heights.

I’m at peace with the world. Some of that is about feeling happiness for the little things in my life and some of it is knowing that I have the incredible opportunity to work with students that is happening very soon. Normally this transition to teaching is associated with a feeling for creeping dread. This is because normally I don’t have my act together mentally as I am heading into the semester. For the first time in about a decade this isn’t the case. I’m mentally set to teach and the majority of work I need to attend to has been handled.

There are a few things that remain on the to do list. I gotta finish up the lesson planning, close down a few house projects, and prep diligently for a pair of fantasy drafts. None of that is getting to me anymore. In fact, the greatest bit of stress in my life is figuring out whether or not my tires are too low. I don’t want to jinx it. I feel like it is important to recognize where I am in life vs. where I have been and the all too real issues that others face. I mentioned the AZ homeless last night and spent some time reading about the Ikea stabbing today. Fact is folks lose their minds everyday as a result of not finding a lick of balance. I refuse to be ‘that guy’ any longer. I want to ride off into the sunset knowing that I created a life of peace, balance, and all manner of kick-assery.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. NPR led me to this delightful bit of podcasting called the Mystery Show. These mysteries are not the ones shaping the world. They are light, fun, and solved by the end of the episode.
2. Every year I update my work office in one manner or another. This year I think I will attend to some more art reflective of me. Not sure what or how yet, but there is this Iron Man image calling my name. The beauty of that is how reflective the action can be of showing where you are in life right now vs. where you have been…
3. Football. I missed seeing AP run and Bridgewater didn’t score, but there is something about those Vikings that promises some fantasy value. I’ll be keeping a closer eye on them as the draft approaches.

I’ve been through a lot in my life–even moments of uncertainty about having a home. Still, nothing I’ve been through compares to what I think the AZ homeless go through. 108 degrees and nowhere to turn to escape the heat?

I’ve escaped the Gilmore Girls series intact. I watched on recommendation and the recommendation had merit. The show follows the life of three generations of the Gilmore family, charting how they grow and age and live life… It sounds incredibly less cool than it was.

I cannot write tonight for whatever reason. I find myself going slowly and caving to fatigue. Some nights have that sleepy quality to them, which slows the ‘pen’ and crowds the mind.

 

What do you really want? Why? What are you willing to do and or surrender in order to fulfill your desire? A sociology interesting fact about the U.S.A. is how well scripted our paths to desire and sex are. In part we learn about our desires from our parents–watching them and discovering what they find important and mirroring that in our own lives. However, parents only take us part of the way. External influences are largely responsible for what we want and ultimately play a role in whether or not we are capable of lasting happiness.

I no longer believe in purely self-created desires. We did not suddenly decide to be into fantasy or science fiction. This is debatable, of course. I chose sci-fi–going into it on my own and enjoying the material. Still, someone pointed me to that rack of books near the back of the library. Once exposed to the idea of such things I chose what I liked. Such is the key: Exposure. External forces helped point me in the right direction.

External forces point us on a daily basis. Shows and ads tell us who to like and what to wear. Subculture points out niches of place and passion, opening doors to specific types of desire and wanting.

I think it is important to discern the influences that led to desire, because understanding why you want those things makes it easier to recognize what desires are legitimate and which are routed in something else entirely.