The truth is, when I open up this field and begin to tap in words, I normally have little idea where I am going, or what story I really want to share.
But tonight, I know exactly where this is going.
The day began like any Thursday, with me waking up very early, brewing coffee, and preparing to drive my youngest son and his carpool-mates out to Lowell High School, considered the best public high school in this area.
By many estimations, the best west of the Mississippi River.
But I don't know about that, because who gets to decide?
Anyway, the four very smart kids in my car as we navigated our way through a very thick fog debated this year's disappointing political races, all the negativity and the apparent lack of awareness all politicians of any ideological stripe project that most of us simply do not care about theories or all that crap.
We just would appreciate a government that helped make our lives better, or got itself out of our way! For a bunch of teenagers, I'd say they were pretty damn clear about that.
For the sake of brevity, I'll avoid my many professional engagements from this daily journal entry, and get back to the parenting theme.
Working with my youngest daughter this afternoon on preparing for her math test tomorrow required all of my patience, always a commodity in limited supply, in the best of times.
Wat irks me is how easily she becomes discouraged, throws her head down on the desk, and seemingly gives up on our mutual quest to find a way that makes sense to her to solve the problems at hand.
She just has no confidence in her own ability to solve mathematical problems. Is this my fault? Her fault? Our society's fault? Her teacher's fault? Something as basic as the unintuitive numerical sequences enforced by our language compared to the super-intuitive versions available via Chinese?
I do not know that answer and I cannot calculate it.
In the meantime, my 17-year-old son, the athlete, and never one to describe himself as an academically-oriented person stole the day.
Just as he was rolling up his sleeves to show his tattoo, and adjust his earring, and go to the gym to continue his vigorous weight-lifting regime, and just as I was about to frame his latest all-city soccer certificate, news flashed across the local Internet site that he had been selected as one of two kids from his school for a city-wide arts award.
What?
It turns out that, on his mother's urging, he submitted a poem several months ago to a competition.
As it also turns out, he is to be recognized at an event on the night of my next birthday.
"No way," he told his Mom, about attending that ceremony here in San Francisco, "I want to celebrate Dad's birthday that night." I didn't know at the time exactly what was going on, immersed as I was with my daughter in her math.
But when I got home and checked my email, I figured out the magnitude of his honor, and so texted him to say that the best thing I could ever imagine on my birthday would be to accompany my son when he is honored as a poet.
A soccer-playing poet! How many of those do we have among us? The title of his poem is "Imagine." I've not read it, obviously, but with his permission, I will reprint it here when I do...
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Peripheral Vision
Dad, the sky's turning pink and purple.
Riding on the bus, I watch the buildings as we pass them by, block by block. Usually, I am the driver, not the passenger. In that role, I may glimpse the same buildings, but only in a peripheral sense, never able to consider their essential meaning.
Now, as our giant Muni vehicle lumbers by, block by block, I notice the cracks and peeling paint, the defacements -- in sum, the vulnerabilities of many of these aging structures.
I also see the people on the sidewalks and bus stops with different eyes. As a driver, they are a constant cause for concern. So many elderly, young, distracted, or disabled people populate our sidewalks that I'm constantly worrying about making sure they do not edge out in front of my car.
As a passenger on the bus, these folks become the object of my study. Suddenly I am not their protector, hoping not to inadvertently hurt them, but a writer, curious about their stories.
Everyone has a story to tell.
That old Asian woman, bent over at the waist, proceeding along at a pace resembling that of a melting glacier, knows more about a time long ago and far away than you or I will ever be graced to share.
That odd fat, and (sorry) quite ugly man, dressed up as a woman opera singer, is either going somewhere for an event, or has a serious identity issue, at his age. I hope for the former, because if so, he's just having fun.
That little baby, with her bright eyes, is noticing everything as she is pushed along in her stroller by her nanny. She already has stories to tell, even though she appears to be at a pre-verbal stage of development.
Do you follow me?
The pace at which we absorb the visual presentation of the lives that surround us matters -- a lot.
Whenever we are in a hurry, for reasons good or bad; or whenever we are in an unnatural position of unnatural control (such as being the driver), we miss a lot.
What we see when we are in a position to see tells us who we are as human beings, in essence. Our essential selves have no power whatsoever. We are entirely vulnerable to the whims of nature, of human constructs, and (if you prefer) of the gods.
Time comes. Time goes. People come. People also go, often quite suddenly, without any warning. Words get spoken. Words remain unspoken. We all underestimate the effects we have on one another. That appears to be our collective fate, which is our greatest sadness.
I am a writer, As long as I can breathe, I hope I also will write. Word by word, I am attempting to tell a story. It's not really my story exactly; it's our story.
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Parents
By nature, most of what I post as a parent comes in on the positive side of the scale, but as any parent knows, there are easily as many frustrating, scary, and confusing moments as any of those celebratory times when your kid gets all-A's, wins a big game, or does something sweet and endearing.
For example, there are those moments when they get into fights, red-faced, and embarrass both themselves and you in the process.
There are the times their report card arrives and you almost have a heart attack, knowing how short-term under-performance in today's world often can preclude options for their future chance at success.
Then there are the awful times you see them withdraw into themselves, go silent, and refuse to connect with you for reasons you have absolutely no visibility into.
It's never easy being a parent, but it is immeasurably more difficult being a teenager.
Just back from 48 hours of around-the-clock work as this kind of parent, I can attest to the exhaustion that results.
Hell, nothing really bad happened in the great scheme of things. They all seem to be fine. But I'm a total wreck.
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For example, there are those moments when they get into fights, red-faced, and embarrass both themselves and you in the process.
There are the times their report card arrives and you almost have a heart attack, knowing how short-term under-performance in today's world often can preclude options for their future chance at success.
Then there are the awful times you see them withdraw into themselves, go silent, and refuse to connect with you for reasons you have absolutely no visibility into.
It's never easy being a parent, but it is immeasurably more difficult being a teenager.
Just back from 48 hours of around-the-clock work as this kind of parent, I can attest to the exhaustion that results.
Hell, nothing really bad happened in the great scheme of things. They all seem to be fine. But I'm a total wreck.
-30-
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Republican Dreamers
Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary tonight going away, leaving Mitt Romney in the dust, for now. Rick Santorum lags in third place, thanks to some pretty incompetent counting out there in Iowa.
(Math lessons for Iowans, anybody?)
All of this stuff interests a political analyst like me because we are accustomed to assessing how candidates grow or shrink under the withering media glare we all, in large or small ways, combine to generate.
In my view, what happened in South Carolina says a lot of good things about the Republican Party, and also some very revealing things about the leading candidates. Start with Romney.
Here is a very rich man who has been successful in business, which is a good thing. He also, uniquely among all GOP hopefuls, served as governor in a very liberal state as a Republican and got some significant stuff done, which is another good thing.
He appears to have led an exemplary personal and family life, with no affairs or divorces or other of the typical problems that dog many charismatic politicians, and even though that is a third good thing, therein may lie one of his essential problems.
He lacks charisma.
Americans like their political heroes to be real people. We are less concerned about their flaws than their ability to connect.
Romney blew his lead by appearing to be insensitive to the plight of normal people with some offhand comments about money. To him, earning some $370,000 a year in speaking fees is chump change, because he earns far more than that simply off his investments.
Romney's error, and this may well prove fatal, was not comprehending (or not being well-enough prepared by his staff to express) that what to him is chump change is to most of the rest of us to be the difference between being able to take care of our families or not.
That is Romney's problem. He does not seem to know what being an average American is actually about. He's very clearly among the one percent. Which would not be a problem except for the impact of the Occupy movement.
We may actually be witnessing the prospect of a real fight for the Republican nomination that could go on for some time.
If I were an Obama strategist, therefore, I would hope that a wounded Romney makes a comeback in Florida, which is a much larger media market, where advertising dollars will matter. Gingrich may have trouble generating enough money fast enough to challenge Romney there.
But Newt has all of the momentum.
There are other factors in play.
My sense is that if Romney releases his tax returns, presumably with no damaging surprises, and use his financial advantage to deploy the right media strategy, he may be able to regain his lost momentum.
But my deeper sense is that Newt has taken over this thing, for now.
It is still too soon to say we're looking at Newt vs. Barack. The GOP race remains open, to a degree we have not seen very often during recent election cycles.
-30-
(Math lessons for Iowans, anybody?)
All of this stuff interests a political analyst like me because we are accustomed to assessing how candidates grow or shrink under the withering media glare we all, in large or small ways, combine to generate.
In my view, what happened in South Carolina says a lot of good things about the Republican Party, and also some very revealing things about the leading candidates. Start with Romney.
Here is a very rich man who has been successful in business, which is a good thing. He also, uniquely among all GOP hopefuls, served as governor in a very liberal state as a Republican and got some significant stuff done, which is another good thing.
He appears to have led an exemplary personal and family life, with no affairs or divorces or other of the typical problems that dog many charismatic politicians, and even though that is a third good thing, therein may lie one of his essential problems.
He lacks charisma.
Americans like their political heroes to be real people. We are less concerned about their flaws than their ability to connect.
Romney blew his lead by appearing to be insensitive to the plight of normal people with some offhand comments about money. To him, earning some $370,000 a year in speaking fees is chump change, because he earns far more than that simply off his investments.
Romney's error, and this may well prove fatal, was not comprehending (or not being well-enough prepared by his staff to express) that what to him is chump change is to most of the rest of us to be the difference between being able to take care of our families or not.
That is Romney's problem. He does not seem to know what being an average American is actually about. He's very clearly among the one percent. Which would not be a problem except for the impact of the Occupy movement.
We may actually be witnessing the prospect of a real fight for the Republican nomination that could go on for some time.
If I were an Obama strategist, therefore, I would hope that a wounded Romney makes a comeback in Florida, which is a much larger media market, where advertising dollars will matter. Gingrich may have trouble generating enough money fast enough to challenge Romney there.
But Newt has all of the momentum.
There are other factors in play.
My sense is that if Romney releases his tax returns, presumably with no damaging surprises, and use his financial advantage to deploy the right media strategy, he may be able to regain his lost momentum.
But my deeper sense is that Newt has taken over this thing, for now.
It is still too soon to say we're looking at Newt vs. Barack. The GOP race remains open, to a degree we have not seen very often during recent election cycles.
-30-
Friday, January 20, 2012
Not Alone But Connected
This is a very personal post. Outside, here the rain has given the streets sound, in the form of every passing car. Some of my kids love this weather. I'm not sure why, but maybe it is partially due to me.
I have always loved complicated weather. Maybe because when the outside world begins to reflect to me the way my emotional arc travels, the whole universe seems much more in sync.
Or maybe because I'm just looking for an excuse to stay inside and feel safe? So rain says, "David, don't go out."
Of course, there is no safety in staying home, in the end. A disaster could easily strike, such as Katrina or a massive earthquake. Then, if I survived, where would I go?
The only way we grow and develop is by reaching out, going into the snow or the rain and finding out what our earth has to teach us, once the climate becomes challenging.
It's not less true in heat.
A long time ago and long way ago, I learned this lesson on an island in the Gulf of Mexico. There, I had the rare privilege to walk a long beach utterly alone, collecting seashells and other treasures left by the sea.
In the process, I was recovering my physical health, which had been compromised by infections I picked up in India and Afghanistan.
-30-
I have always loved complicated weather. Maybe because when the outside world begins to reflect to me the way my emotional arc travels, the whole universe seems much more in sync.
Or maybe because I'm just looking for an excuse to stay inside and feel safe? So rain says, "David, don't go out."
Of course, there is no safety in staying home, in the end. A disaster could easily strike, such as Katrina or a massive earthquake. Then, if I survived, where would I go?
The only way we grow and develop is by reaching out, going into the snow or the rain and finding out what our earth has to teach us, once the climate becomes challenging.
It's not less true in heat.
A long time ago and long way ago, I learned this lesson on an island in the Gulf of Mexico. There, I had the rare privilege to walk a long beach utterly alone, collecting seashells and other treasures left by the sea.
In the process, I was recovering my physical health, which had been compromised by infections I picked up in India and Afghanistan.
-30-
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Storytellers, Anonymous
Do you ever wish you could back through time and change things?
Whenever I teach a class in memoir writing, I'm struck by the high degree of emotional honesty of my students.
By that I mean they try very hard to tell their story as they think it occurred, regardless of whether it casts them in a good light or a less than flattering light.
I've often been struck by this -- that people are willing to try so hard to get it right.
What we have at least partially in common with others is our past together. The parts that overlapped between our lives and theirs is our shared history.
Each of us owns a share of that past, and to tell that story, we have to do it in our own way.
Because, of course, story-telling is generally a solitary art form.
There are new, collaborative story-telling models emerging, courtesy of technology, but these remain to be developed in robust enough ways that the traditional model gets broken.
For now, it is me telling our story my way and you telling it your way.
As a writer, I've always been very sensitive to the nuances of how the other person might choose to tell our story as opposed to how I do.
These are boundaries, creatively, that need to be preserved, IMHO.
Then again, when the other person absents herself entirely from the process, choosing silence, I suppose your only choice left is to reflect her POV best you can, as you truthfully try to tell the tale.
-30-
Whenever I teach a class in memoir writing, I'm struck by the high degree of emotional honesty of my students.
By that I mean they try very hard to tell their story as they think it occurred, regardless of whether it casts them in a good light or a less than flattering light.
I've often been struck by this -- that people are willing to try so hard to get it right.
What we have at least partially in common with others is our past together. The parts that overlapped between our lives and theirs is our shared history.
Each of us owns a share of that past, and to tell that story, we have to do it in our own way.
Because, of course, story-telling is generally a solitary art form.
There are new, collaborative story-telling models emerging, courtesy of technology, but these remain to be developed in robust enough ways that the traditional model gets broken.
For now, it is me telling our story my way and you telling it your way.
As a writer, I've always been very sensitive to the nuances of how the other person might choose to tell our story as opposed to how I do.
These are boundaries, creatively, that need to be preserved, IMHO.
Then again, when the other person absents herself entirely from the process, choosing silence, I suppose your only choice left is to reflect her POV best you can, as you truthfully try to tell the tale.
-30-
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
How Many Special Things Happen in a Lifetime?
Here is a link to my oldest son Peter's work on how fruit flies use sunlight to navigate. The only time I (and a friend) visited his lab at Cal Tech is one of my fondest memories.
It is illustrated by my youngest daughter Julia's work on an iPad.
Seeing his research in print is an amazing honor for me, as his Dad. He is not only a talented scientist, but a fine writer. Most important of all, his work matters.
And so does his little sister's. She is trying to establish her voice as an artist.
-30-
Today's News Today
I'm so proud of one of the companies I often work with, Wikipedia, for its leadership today in the anti-SOPA/PIPA movement. There is evidence that what Wikipedia and other leading Internet companies did today will perhaps cause these well-intentioned, but dangerous bills to go back for revision, so that they never get the opportunity to cause much more harm than good.
Which is what would have happened had they been passed and signed into law.
Don't get me wrong. I oppose online piracy, just as fiercely as I oppose all forms of plagiarism. As a lifelong journalist, I have been victimized by plagiarists on a number of occasions. And the content that I constantly create has been stolen by many.
One funny story in this regard is something a former staffer of then Senator Al Gore told someone I know years ago. It seems that Gore had prepared a statement declaring that he had created the concept of a "circle of poison" to describe the process by which banned pesticides from the U.S. were being dumped in Third World countries.
In fact, that phrase was the title of my first book, co-authored with Mark Schapiro. I can assure you that Al Gore had nothing to do with it.
Of course, stealing ideas is not necessarily a crime -- people have done it since time immemorial. And, with the Internet, everything happens at hyperspeed, including the theft of intellectual property.
But SOPA and PIPA are not the right way to deal with piracy, stealing and copyright infringement.
Those of us whose only real assets are our intellectual skills, in the form of the ability to create original content, stand the most to lose from those who poach, and copy and exploit us.
But we also must stand on the front line of free speech, because without it, we wouldn't be creating content. We would be in jail.
My note to our legislative leaders is to try and write legislation that actually addresses real problems in ways that promise real solutions. Do your homework. Don't create sledgehammers to fix problems better attacked with a well-placed pencil lead.
-30-
Which is what would have happened had they been passed and signed into law.
Don't get me wrong. I oppose online piracy, just as fiercely as I oppose all forms of plagiarism. As a lifelong journalist, I have been victimized by plagiarists on a number of occasions. And the content that I constantly create has been stolen by many.
One funny story in this regard is something a former staffer of then Senator Al Gore told someone I know years ago. It seems that Gore had prepared a statement declaring that he had created the concept of a "circle of poison" to describe the process by which banned pesticides from the U.S. were being dumped in Third World countries.
In fact, that phrase was the title of my first book, co-authored with Mark Schapiro. I can assure you that Al Gore had nothing to do with it.
Of course, stealing ideas is not necessarily a crime -- people have done it since time immemorial. And, with the Internet, everything happens at hyperspeed, including the theft of intellectual property.
But SOPA and PIPA are not the right way to deal with piracy, stealing and copyright infringement.
Those of us whose only real assets are our intellectual skills, in the form of the ability to create original content, stand the most to lose from those who poach, and copy and exploit us.
But we also must stand on the front line of free speech, because without it, we wouldn't be creating content. We would be in jail.
My note to our legislative leaders is to try and write legislation that actually addresses real problems in ways that promise real solutions. Do your homework. Don't create sledgehammers to fix problems better attacked with a well-placed pencil lead.
-30-
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
This Site Is Blocked
In solidarity with the anti-SOPA/PIPA movement, this blog goes dark tonight. We will not post any new content during this Internet-wide protest.
End these legislative intrusions!
Or else, this blog, and many other, much more important communication channels, shall cease to exist permanently.
P.S. Just try to access Wikipedia right now...
End these legislative intrusions!
Or else, this blog, and many other, much more important communication channels, shall cease to exist permanently.
P.S. Just try to access Wikipedia right now...
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Nuances of a Day
The first-ever meeting between the youth teams of the professional San Jose Earthquakes vs. the San Francisco Seals this morning was an entertaining match in blustery western San Francisco.
Bruised up a bit after the game, my player (#16) said he enjoyed the game, which was close, and that the opponents reminded him of a team he'd faced in Europe last summer, also a youth professional development team, that one from Sweden.
Afterwards, I drove down the peninsula for a work meeting as the startup I'm helping prepare for launch approaches D-Day.
Tonight, my daughter came over for a relatively rare evening alone. I prepared edamame, rice and beans, with cheese, and a plate of fresh fruit. When she's the only one eating with me, I'm happily vegetarian, just like her, I find.
It's a pleasing experience for me.
With the boys, I'm a carnivore, not quite a "paleo"-diet fanatic, but we eat a lot of meat-centric meals.
At the end of the evening, after our healthy food, my daughter and I shared a bowl of popcorn while watching one of her favorite TV shows.
Just another day here in our town.
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Saturday, January 14, 2012
Awards Night
Awards, trophies, medals, certificates, speeches, applause. It's hard to believe how fast your kid's high school years pass by, so as you watch him being praised and honored by the school's principal, athletic director and his coach for the quality of his play, what's going through your mind is that this is the second to last time you'll ever be able to experience a moment like this.
It's an odd example of not living in the moment. Then, you snap back to your senses, and let out a whoop when he walks to the front of the room. There he is, wearing one of your shirts, and his black beanie, his gold earring and his star tattoo -- his own (young) man, a star in his own right.
After all, this is his night, not yours.
You are the observer.
Afterwards you shake his hand and tell him once again how proud you are of him. Something sits out there, in both of your minds, not yet expressed. It is a vision of the one last season to come, the season where he brings home something much more special to both of you than individual honors.
That would be a city championship, the first for his school in over three decades. For that to happen, he will have to have a breakout senior year, becoming even better at what he is already very good at, and also becoming a leader.
This may be more difficult that it sounds. As one of the few native English speakers on his team, and the only white person, he's always chosen to take a quiet role, in the background, on defense.
But there he is, with the rest, the tallest man in the room, smiling just a bit. Will he be up to the task?
Ask me a year from now. Even though I already think I know the answer.
-30-
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Bon Appetit
Among life's best treasures are those moments when somebody really wants to see you, and makes sure you know that. That happened to me today, as my three-year-old buddy and grandson had his Mom message me and find out if I could come over for a "play date."
"Yes."
It's pretty special at any age when somebody invites you on a play date. As I was driving across the bridge to the East Bay, I mused about lots of potential kinds of play dates, before shaking myself back to reality.
As always, I was greeted by my little friend in the most sincere and truly loving way a person can be, and soon we were off, him riding his little bike, me hustling on foot to keep up from behind. To a park, the library (where he selected many more books than we could carry home), and then back to his house for lots of fun games.
At some point in the afternoon, he convinced his Mom to let us all cook Christmas cookies. As we kneaded and flattened the dough, he got out those cookie cutters and started sorting them by name.
Here, I was impressed that his language of choice was French, which for some time now he has more freely and openly been mixing with his English.
First, I heard him say "arbre de Noël," then "étoiles," mainly to himself, then to his Mom and me, "bonhomme de neige."
Next, he came out with "Gingerbread Man," which I'm fairly sure is what a French speaker who have to say also.
Finally, after mumbling "reindeer" under his breath, he came out with "rennes."
It's a wonderful privilege to watch a young child, thoroughly bi-lingual, work out his linguistic choices at a time like that.
Neither his Mom or I could figure out why he suddenly chose French on this occasion, bit we went along with it and reinforced the words as he came out with them.
The cookies, once ready, were quite delicious.
Bon appetit...
-30-
"Yes."
It's pretty special at any age when somebody invites you on a play date. As I was driving across the bridge to the East Bay, I mused about lots of potential kinds of play dates, before shaking myself back to reality.
As always, I was greeted by my little friend in the most sincere and truly loving way a person can be, and soon we were off, him riding his little bike, me hustling on foot to keep up from behind. To a park, the library (where he selected many more books than we could carry home), and then back to his house for lots of fun games.
At some point in the afternoon, he convinced his Mom to let us all cook Christmas cookies. As we kneaded and flattened the dough, he got out those cookie cutters and started sorting them by name.
Here, I was impressed that his language of choice was French, which for some time now he has more freely and openly been mixing with his English.
First, I heard him say "arbre de Noël," then "étoiles," mainly to himself, then to his Mom and me, "bonhomme de neige."
Next, he came out with "Gingerbread Man," which I'm fairly sure is what a French speaker who have to say also.
Finally, after mumbling "reindeer" under his breath, he came out with "rennes."
It's a wonderful privilege to watch a young child, thoroughly bi-lingual, work out his linguistic choices at a time like that.
Neither his Mom or I could figure out why he suddenly chose French on this occasion, bit we went along with it and reinforced the words as he came out with them.
The cookies, once ready, were quite delicious.
Bon appetit...
-30-
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Family Movies
So my kids have been making funny movies for years now and posting them to YouTube. So far none have gone viral, so far as I know, but here is one of their efforts, five or six years ago, in which I make a cameo appearance.
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Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Drift of What's to Come
So, the final numbers in New Hampshire will eventually confirm that Romney won, and it looks like he gathered 38-40 percent, followed by Paul at 23 percent and Huntsman with 17 percent. Gingrich (10) , Santorum (10), and Perry (1) continue to be non-starters.
The only drama left in this race will develop if one of the challengers can break out in South Carolina and/or in Florida. But, frankly, this looks to be over, and Romney the GOP's candidate.
I do not consider him to be a very string candidate, and in fact this entire field of candidates is very weak, given that incumbent, President Obama, presides over a very weak economy and a nation with millions of unhappy citizens.
It is hard to imagine Romney beating Obama, frankly. He'll pick a conservative for his V-P, obviously, but that is unlikely to make much of a difference.
I have not done a state-by-state breakdown yet -- that can come later, but while it should be a pretty close race, I think the Obama camp has to be pretty happy about their opponent will be.
-30-
The only drama left in this race will develop if one of the challengers can break out in South Carolina and/or in Florida. But, frankly, this looks to be over, and Romney the GOP's candidate.
I do not consider him to be a very string candidate, and in fact this entire field of candidates is very weak, given that incumbent, President Obama, presides over a very weak economy and a nation with millions of unhappy citizens.
It is hard to imagine Romney beating Obama, frankly. He'll pick a conservative for his V-P, obviously, but that is unlikely to make much of a difference.
I have not done a state-by-state breakdown yet -- that can come later, but while it should be a pretty close race, I think the Obama camp has to be pretty happy about their opponent will be.
-30-
News From New Hampshire
Nothing too surprising, but early exit poll data indicates Romney winning with 36.8 percent, following by Paul at 26.3 percent, and Huntsman with 21.1 percent. Gingrich is fourth with 10.5 percent, and Perry is getting 5.3 percent. I'm not sure what happened to Santorum.
These figures are unlikely to prove an accurate breakdown of the actual vote totals once those are tallied tonight, because they appear to be based on only a one percent sampling so far.
But, as a rough snapshot of what the results will be, it's safe to assume that Romney has won, and that Huntsman may have lived to fight another day. Paul is not a serious candidate for the White House, so his support represents more about his constituency (Libertarians) than him as a potential nominee.
I suspect Paul would be better suited as a third-party candidate that could really articulate an agenda that differs radically from what even conservatives and Tea Partiers aspire to accomplish.
BTW, the final average of major polls anticipated pretty much the picture emerging from the exit polls. Here is how that spread turned out: Romney at 37.5 percent, Paul at 17.5 percent, Huntsman at 14.5 percent, Santorum at 11.5 percent, Gingrich at 10.3percent, and Perry at 1.0percent.
These figures are unlikely to prove an accurate breakdown of the actual vote totals once those are tallied tonight, because they appear to be based on only a one percent sampling so far.
But, as a rough snapshot of what the results will be, it's safe to assume that Romney has won, and that Huntsman may have lived to fight another day. Paul is not a serious candidate for the White House, so his support represents more about his constituency (Libertarians) than him as a potential nominee.
I suspect Paul would be better suited as a third-party candidate that could really articulate an agenda that differs radically from what even conservatives and Tea Partiers aspire to accomplish.
BTW, the final average of major polls anticipated pretty much the picture emerging from the exit polls. Here is how that spread turned out: Romney at 37.5 percent, Paul at 17.5 percent, Huntsman at 14.5 percent, Santorum at 11.5 percent, Gingrich at 10.3percent, and Perry at 1.0percent.
Sunday, January 08, 2012
1-0
Futsol season is here and my kid's team got off to a strong start, winning 15-2. But their opponent today was the younger half of their split squad -- the 16-year-olds vs. the 17-year-olds.
In the nine-team league, there are four such franchises, which is one of the oddities of futsol. Sitting with the parents of kids on both squads, all I could do was to cheer for both teams, especially in the second half, after a 9-0 start.
Aidan played well, very well, which is one reason the other squad didn't get any clean shots on goal for the whole first half. In the second half, everyone kind of loosened up and played more or less for fun.
When you're used to soccer, with the big expansive field outdoors, this tiny court, indoor game is like soccer on steroids. Everything happens so fast, you can hardly keep pace. Any kick can potentially result in a goal from anywhere on the court.
Afterwards, Aidan worked out again, first at home, then at the gym. He drinks his muscle-building, protein powder concoctions after his workouts. Although his older brother used to hoist himself on a bar we had over the door to his bedroom, doing pullups every time he entered or exited his room, I've never had such a compulsive exerciser on my hands before.
Maybe he gets that from his Mom. She's always been big on exercise, though not on sports. After one play today, when the opposing goalie dropped the ball just after blocking a shot, and it rolled into the goal, she asked, "Does that count?"
-30-
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Parenting Athletes
Today, after his intense, two-hour futsol practice, my son and I visited a local gym, where I purchased him a membership. As I signed his parental permission form, the woman who signed him up told me very few 17-year-olds work out, compared to people of other ages.
Of course, according to national studies, very few people work out at all.
Something like 70 percent of Americans do not even meet the minimum recommended level of exercise per week. Many are obese.
When you go down the demographic segments to teens, I suspect the percentage is microscopic. Certainly, when touring the gym today, among the hundreds of patrons I saw exercising there was not a single other teenager.
Finances are, of course, an issue, but they are also an issue for us. On the other hand, my son's commitment to stay in the best possible shape as he continues to develop as an elite soccer player is more than enough for me to lay down whatever cash I can for him to reach his goals.
Besides, this was one of his Christmas presents.
Less than an hour (and a Jamba Juice) after I got him his membership, he was back there, working out on the machines on his upper-body strength.
The football coach from his high school recognized him. "Working out on a Saturday, very impressive!"
I tried to do some research about how many teens work out in gyms, but this is a new field for me, and I couldn't locate any reliable statistics.
When I picked him up afterwards, he said it had been "fun."
Exercise releases endorphins. It is fun.
Too bad more people don't realize that.
Tomorrow will be his first futsol game of the season. I'm looking forward to that...
-30-
Of course, according to national studies, very few people work out at all.
Something like 70 percent of Americans do not even meet the minimum recommended level of exercise per week. Many are obese.
When you go down the demographic segments to teens, I suspect the percentage is microscopic. Certainly, when touring the gym today, among the hundreds of patrons I saw exercising there was not a single other teenager.
Finances are, of course, an issue, but they are also an issue for us. On the other hand, my son's commitment to stay in the best possible shape as he continues to develop as an elite soccer player is more than enough for me to lay down whatever cash I can for him to reach his goals.
Besides, this was one of his Christmas presents.
Less than an hour (and a Jamba Juice) after I got him his membership, he was back there, working out on the machines on his upper-body strength.
The football coach from his high school recognized him. "Working out on a Saturday, very impressive!"
I tried to do some research about how many teens work out in gyms, but this is a new field for me, and I couldn't locate any reliable statistics.
When I picked him up afterwards, he said it had been "fun."
Exercise releases endorphins. It is fun.
Too bad more people don't realize that.
Tomorrow will be his first futsol game of the season. I'm looking forward to that...
-30-
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Election 2012: Post Two
If you like to follow Presidential politics in the U.S., this promises to be an exciting year. You know, it happens only every fourth year.
Today's news (according to CNN) include some statements by Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich that border on racial stereotyping of the sort that often seems to pop up in advance of the South Carolina primary (which is scheduled for January 21st this year.)
It's weird how election cycles tend to repeat themselves like endless versions of the film Groundhog Day, trying to get it right.
Iowa, especially the Republican Party in Iowa, is made up mainly of white people, Christians, farmers, hard-working, decent, parochial folks with little interaction with the diverse, immigration-rich societies that dominate our coasts.
So what these nice people think reflects little beyond what that -- what they think. It is not reflective of the nation at large.
The winner in Iowa, Mitt Romney, stands to claim New Hampshire next. I'm not sure who is going to win South Carolina -- probably not Romney. Whoever does win becomes the automatic alternative to Romney, and perhaps the candidate that could mobilize the conservative base for the GOP.
Thus, today's attention on Santorum and Gingrich is relevant in that either of them could be that candidate.
Gingrich, the intellectual with tremendous baggage, is an investigative reporter's dream candidate. Let me assure you that even an inexperienced journalist who digs hard enough can expose things about Gingrich that would alienate a large swath of voters.
Yet Gingrich also has always been a man of ideas, and some of his ideas have wide appeal to American voters who like to think about political issues, not just vote from an emotional place.
As a political analyst, I understand both the emotional and the intellectual aspects of campaign-year dynamics. People want to both feel good about the candidate they support and also believe to be in league with his or her ideas and positions.
But to get elected, candidates have to espouse centrist ideas, because there are not enough leftists or rightists to carry an election. Enough voters are capable of swinging between the parties that no one can get elected from an extreme, except in rare circumstances, such as occurred in 1980 when Ronald Reagan swept to power.
Republicans like to demonize Barack Obama as a leftist but that only shows they don't know what a true leftist is. This guy, our President, is a centrist -- that's why he won in 2008.
The GOP's best chance to unseat him is Romney, another centrist. But if the radicals of the party undermine Romney enough to destroy his chances to win the centrist vote, he will go down to a definitive defeat.
I haven't mentioned the ideological purist yet, Ron Paul. The libertarian in me loves him. But the problem with Paul is he connects with only one small slice of our common Americanism. Let's call it one-fifth of who we are.
That will never lead to him winning an election.
Obama's dream scenario? Paul leaves the GOP and runs as an independent. Then the final numbers will look like this: Obama 45%, Romney 35%, Paul 20%.
You read that here first.
Stay tuned.
-30-
Today's news (according to CNN) include some statements by Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich that border on racial stereotyping of the sort that often seems to pop up in advance of the South Carolina primary (which is scheduled for January 21st this year.)
It's weird how election cycles tend to repeat themselves like endless versions of the film Groundhog Day, trying to get it right.
Iowa, especially the Republican Party in Iowa, is made up mainly of white people, Christians, farmers, hard-working, decent, parochial folks with little interaction with the diverse, immigration-rich societies that dominate our coasts.
So what these nice people think reflects little beyond what that -- what they think. It is not reflective of the nation at large.
The winner in Iowa, Mitt Romney, stands to claim New Hampshire next. I'm not sure who is going to win South Carolina -- probably not Romney. Whoever does win becomes the automatic alternative to Romney, and perhaps the candidate that could mobilize the conservative base for the GOP.
Thus, today's attention on Santorum and Gingrich is relevant in that either of them could be that candidate.
Gingrich, the intellectual with tremendous baggage, is an investigative reporter's dream candidate. Let me assure you that even an inexperienced journalist who digs hard enough can expose things about Gingrich that would alienate a large swath of voters.
Yet Gingrich also has always been a man of ideas, and some of his ideas have wide appeal to American voters who like to think about political issues, not just vote from an emotional place.
As a political analyst, I understand both the emotional and the intellectual aspects of campaign-year dynamics. People want to both feel good about the candidate they support and also believe to be in league with his or her ideas and positions.
But to get elected, candidates have to espouse centrist ideas, because there are not enough leftists or rightists to carry an election. Enough voters are capable of swinging between the parties that no one can get elected from an extreme, except in rare circumstances, such as occurred in 1980 when Ronald Reagan swept to power.
Republicans like to demonize Barack Obama as a leftist but that only shows they don't know what a true leftist is. This guy, our President, is a centrist -- that's why he won in 2008.
The GOP's best chance to unseat him is Romney, another centrist. But if the radicals of the party undermine Romney enough to destroy his chances to win the centrist vote, he will go down to a definitive defeat.
I haven't mentioned the ideological purist yet, Ron Paul. The libertarian in me loves him. But the problem with Paul is he connects with only one small slice of our common Americanism. Let's call it one-fifth of who we are.
That will never lead to him winning an election.
Obama's dream scenario? Paul leaves the GOP and runs as an independent. Then the final numbers will look like this: Obama 45%, Romney 35%, Paul 20%.
You read that here first.
Stay tuned.
-30-
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Election 2012: Post One
Well, it's fairly clear that, barring some major surprise, that Mitt Romney of Massachusetts will be the Republican Party's nominee for President this year against incumbent President Barack Obama, a Democrat. He's more or less won the Iowa caucuses tonight and will no doubt win the New Hampshire primary soon. After that, his momentum will be hard to slow, unless someone more conservative emerges in South Carolina.
Rick Santorum is not going to be the nominee. Can you imagine a candidate campaigning on something as obscure and meaningless a political issue as abortion? And there is no other credible Republican candidate for President. Newt Gingrich, probably the GOP's best chance, crashed and burned too quickly under fire, so he faces an uphill battle to get back.
Despite the horrible economy, and the substantial anger in many quarters of our society about the state of things, from the Tea Party on the right to the Occupy movement on the left, the Republicans can only offer Romney as their alternative?
IMHO, if Obama was going to be defeated this year, some sort of populist candidate would have had to emerge. To tell you the truth, until recently, I expected that to happen. Someone connected to the Tea Party would have seemed to be the GOP's best choice.
But that has not happened, at least not yet.
So, instead, it appears a milktoast Republican, Romney, is the best the opposing party can muster.
Obama, a master campaigner and debater, will eat him for lunch.
As it stands now, our President will be re-elected, despite his deserved unenthusiastic support from his own base. Let's hope, if that happens, for the good of our country, that he can at least sweep in some Democrats to the Senate and House as well, because this country does not need four more years of the pathetic kind of gridlock a split government has delivered us these past two years.
It's a long time from here to November. As of now, the Republicans stand to win the Senate, and re-claim the House, but lose the White House.
That, too, may change, especially with the lack of enthusiasm for Romney by the party's conservative faction.
I suppose, as a journalist, I hope some of this will change, so there is something to write about. But for now, it will be Obama defeating Romney easily in November. The situation in Congress remains too unsettled to call.
-30-
Rick Santorum is not going to be the nominee. Can you imagine a candidate campaigning on something as obscure and meaningless a political issue as abortion? And there is no other credible Republican candidate for President. Newt Gingrich, probably the GOP's best chance, crashed and burned too quickly under fire, so he faces an uphill battle to get back.
Despite the horrible economy, and the substantial anger in many quarters of our society about the state of things, from the Tea Party on the right to the Occupy movement on the left, the Republicans can only offer Romney as their alternative?
IMHO, if Obama was going to be defeated this year, some sort of populist candidate would have had to emerge. To tell you the truth, until recently, I expected that to happen. Someone connected to the Tea Party would have seemed to be the GOP's best choice.
But that has not happened, at least not yet.
So, instead, it appears a milktoast Republican, Romney, is the best the opposing party can muster.
Obama, a master campaigner and debater, will eat him for lunch.
As it stands now, our President will be re-elected, despite his deserved unenthusiastic support from his own base. Let's hope, if that happens, for the good of our country, that he can at least sweep in some Democrats to the Senate and House as well, because this country does not need four more years of the pathetic kind of gridlock a split government has delivered us these past two years.
It's a long time from here to November. As of now, the Republicans stand to win the Senate, and re-claim the House, but lose the White House.
That, too, may change, especially with the lack of enthusiasm for Romney by the party's conservative faction.
I suppose, as a journalist, I hope some of this will change, so there is something to write about. But for now, it will be Obama defeating Romney easily in November. The situation in Congress remains too unsettled to call.
-30-
Friday, December 30, 2011
Go Already, Year, Get Out of Here
Very soft, cold misting outside here, suitable for ushering a dying year to its grave. The sky is dull grey; the hills are obscured. The wetness makes the vehicles swish as they pass. The daylight, such as it is, escapes; the temperature falls further.
Back where I grew up, winter was a time of snow, ice, wind, fires in the fireplace. Here it is a mostly dull season, when the rains are supposed to fall, except when we have a drought.
This has been one of the driest Decembers on record.
But it also can be sunny and bright, if rarely warm in winter. Sometimes, when the sky is blue, the Bay Area serves as a beacon to those in the snow belt. Hell, even today's weather probably would appeal to them over what they often have back home.
The year just inches away, minute by minute. I don't know why, but this is always an extremely emotional time for me; I find myself taking stock personally of the year as it ends.
At some point, I just want to be rid of it, to close the books, and look back as little as possible going forward.
But for now I'm stuck with it, this measly representation of a 12-month standstill. The damn thing doesn't seem to have enough sense to speed up its departure, like a party guest that overstayed her welcome.
In the mist and the gathering darkness, the only sound left is that of my fingers tap-tap-tapping.
-30-
Back where I grew up, winter was a time of snow, ice, wind, fires in the fireplace. Here it is a mostly dull season, when the rains are supposed to fall, except when we have a drought.
This has been one of the driest Decembers on record.
But it also can be sunny and bright, if rarely warm in winter. Sometimes, when the sky is blue, the Bay Area serves as a beacon to those in the snow belt. Hell, even today's weather probably would appeal to them over what they often have back home.
The year just inches away, minute by minute. I don't know why, but this is always an extremely emotional time for me; I find myself taking stock personally of the year as it ends.
At some point, I just want to be rid of it, to close the books, and look back as little as possible going forward.
But for now I'm stuck with it, this measly representation of a 12-month standstill. The damn thing doesn't seem to have enough sense to speed up its departure, like a party guest that overstayed her welcome.
In the mist and the gathering darkness, the only sound left is that of my fingers tap-tap-tapping.
-30-
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