Random Observation the First:
Michael Crighton, M.D., author, screenwriter, producer, and bon vivant, has just published a new book, State of Fear. He also has recently opined (in Parade magazine) that we must stop listening to the doomsayers, the predictors of defeat and dispair, because they do nothing but add to our stress levels--besides which, their dire predictions don't come true anyway.
That's OK as far as it goes. Nowhere in his article did I see even a hint of an acknowledgement that maybe the reason that none of their dire predictions came true was because they warned us and thus someone did something to change what was about to happen. Furthermore, given the title of his book, Crighton seems to be making money off the phenomenon, so how can he complain?
Personally, I'd rather have people aware of potential disasters and preparing for them or working to prevent them than sticking their heads in the sand. With the possible exception of the next topic I am about to raise, that is.
Observation the Second:
I for one am getting seriously tired of all the yapping at this time of year about "they [whomever "they" are--Ed.] are taking Christ out of Christmas."
People can observe or not, as they choose--the only prohibition is on the government doing anything that looks like IT is favoring Christianity (or any stripe thereof) over any other religion, or favoring any other religion over any (or every) stripe of Christianity.
Granted, there are a lot of people out there who will not get the distinction . . . and some of them are erroneously trying to stop other individuals from expressing their personal faith . . . which is not just wrong, it's dangerous.
But we cannot have any branch at any level of government giving even the appearance of favoring one faith over another, for then we have a clear violation of the First Amendment. If we want America to remain America, we collectively cannot stand for anybody violating the First Amendment.
Observation the Third:
Even when the College Football Bowl Championship Series (a misnomer if there ever was one--there's no series, for one thing) seems to work, someone somewhere is going to carp about it.
We do have a matchup of #1 vs. #2 in this year's designated championship game: USC vs. Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, on January 4th. [A quick aside: isn't drawing this out till January 4th a bit much? I know, I know. It's the money.--Ed.] Nevertheless, there are a total of 5 undefeated teams right now, and the three that have been "locked out" of the championship game are not happy campers.
It may be unfair, but it's not going to change. Money talks, and there is too much money involved in the Division 1-A bowl games as presently constituted for the institutions involved to switch over to a true playoff system . . . even though a playoff works for all the other divisions in the NCAA.
But that's OK, because it gives people something to carp about other than the unseasonably warm weather we're having right now in eastern Nebraska. At least my heating bills aren't going to bankrupt me . . . yet!
Observation the Fourth:
There are actually some television commercials that are entertaining. They do not get aired nearly as much as they ought to be. There are also the vast majority of commercials that are obnoxious in the extreme, and they are ubiquitous.
Wazzup with that?
I thought we were past the days of "remember me well or remember me ill, just remember me."
Observation the Fifth (get it?):
Froeliche Beethovens Geburtstag!
In honor of the 234th anniversary of Ludwig's birth, please go listen to one of his masterworks, especially as conducted either by Arturo Toscanini or George Szell. You'll be glad you did. (My personal recommendations are Toscanini's interpretation of the 9th Symphony and Szell's of the 5th.)
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