An AP story I read today states that in Birmingham, England, apostrophes are no longer going to be used on street signs because they are, and I quote, "confusing and old-fashioned."
The head of the city's transport scrutiny committee (they have a committee for that?), Martin Mullaney, says, "Apostrophes denote possessions that are no longer accurate and are not needed. They confuse people. If I want to go to a restaurant, I don't want to have an A-level (high-school diploma) in English to find it."
Um, ok. So you're saying you're dumber than a high-school student?
If apostrophes "confuse people," isn't the answer for school systems everywhere to somehow find a way to do a better job at educating children about when and how to use an apostrophe? Didn't the schools used to do it that way?
But no, let's just throw up our hands and give up and change punctuation rules because that way, you won't need a high-school diploma to read a basic street sign in Birmingham, England, or anywhere else, for that matter.
Sigh....
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Apple computers
So the Apple Macintosh has been around for 25 years now.
I have to chuckle about this, because when I got my first computer in about 1993, it was a Macintosh Performa, and so many of my friends were just aghast that I had gotten an APPLE instead of a Windows-based PC! I can't tell you how many of them tried to argue me out of getting a Mac - "They have a very very small share of the market, and they're going to go belly up pretty soon, and then you'll be stuck with an obsolete computer you paid a lot of money for!" "You won't be able to find very many games for it; if you want to play a lot of games on your computer, you need to get a Windows PC!" And even AFTER I bought the Mac and brought it home, erstwhile-friend Lisa ARGUED with me that I shouldn't have gotten it, and kept giving me all the reasons why SHE thought I should not have bought a Mac - AFTER I'd bought it! Wouldn't you think she could have said, "Well, maybe it's not what I would have chosen, but I hope you enjoy your new computer and have many happy hours of computing with it"? But then, Lisa would argue with a sign post; that's just the way she is.
I chuckle because this was in 1993, and here it is 2009, and Apple, while still not a leader in the market like Windows-based PCs, hasn't gone anywhere. It HASN'T gone belly-up, it's still in the marketplace, it's still popular in its own little niche. I never bought any computer games because I'm just not all that interested in computer games, so the fact that more computer games are available for Windows as opposed to Macs is irrelevant to me. And all those naysayers who told me that Mac was going to go out of business in just a year or two - where are they?
I hope Steve Jobs recovers his health. I hate to hear about anyone being ill, and he is definitely an American icon because of his connection to the Mac.
I have to chuckle about this, because when I got my first computer in about 1993, it was a Macintosh Performa, and so many of my friends were just aghast that I had gotten an APPLE instead of a Windows-based PC! I can't tell you how many of them tried to argue me out of getting a Mac - "They have a very very small share of the market, and they're going to go belly up pretty soon, and then you'll be stuck with an obsolete computer you paid a lot of money for!" "You won't be able to find very many games for it; if you want to play a lot of games on your computer, you need to get a Windows PC!" And even AFTER I bought the Mac and brought it home, erstwhile-friend Lisa ARGUED with me that I shouldn't have gotten it, and kept giving me all the reasons why SHE thought I should not have bought a Mac - AFTER I'd bought it! Wouldn't you think she could have said, "Well, maybe it's not what I would have chosen, but I hope you enjoy your new computer and have many happy hours of computing with it"? But then, Lisa would argue with a sign post; that's just the way she is.
I chuckle because this was in 1993, and here it is 2009, and Apple, while still not a leader in the market like Windows-based PCs, hasn't gone anywhere. It HASN'T gone belly-up, it's still in the marketplace, it's still popular in its own little niche. I never bought any computer games because I'm just not all that interested in computer games, so the fact that more computer games are available for Windows as opposed to Macs is irrelevant to me. And all those naysayers who told me that Mac was going to go out of business in just a year or two - where are they?
I hope Steve Jobs recovers his health. I hate to hear about anyone being ill, and he is definitely an American icon because of his connection to the Mac.
Johnny Carson
I find it hard to believe Johnny Carson has been gone for four years as of today. I find it hard to believe Johnny is gone at all.
I grew up watching Johnny Carson. He started as host of "The Tonight Show" when I was just a year old. And while he went from dark hair to gray over the course of the years that he hosted, he always seemed ageless.
I think after he retired from "The Tonight Show," I still had the expectation that he was going to walk out through those curtains with Ed McMahon hollering "Hi-oooooh!" To this day, it feels strange to me to see Jay Leno hosting the show, and yet Jay Leno is the second-longest in terms of time spent as host of "The Tonight Show." I've never really gotten used to him, and while I occasionally watch (I do enjoy the "Headlines" segment on Monday nights), I just don't care for his version of "The Tonight Show" and I have never stopped missing Johnny Carson.
In the early 80's, I got to take a tour of the Burbank NBC studios, and saw the set of Johnny's "Tonight Show." (I think that may have been during the era of the backdrop of Lake Carson, my favorite of the backdrops - remember that crude little Loch Ness monster that used to occasionally go across the lake behind Johnny?) Johnny wasn't there when our tour group was going through the studio, but I remember his picture was giant size on the door of that studio - you definitely knew this was where King Johnny reigned!
So many of the celebrities I grew up with are gone now, but Johnny is one of the ones I miss most of all.
I grew up watching Johnny Carson. He started as host of "The Tonight Show" when I was just a year old. And while he went from dark hair to gray over the course of the years that he hosted, he always seemed ageless.
I think after he retired from "The Tonight Show," I still had the expectation that he was going to walk out through those curtains with Ed McMahon hollering "Hi-oooooh!" To this day, it feels strange to me to see Jay Leno hosting the show, and yet Jay Leno is the second-longest in terms of time spent as host of "The Tonight Show." I've never really gotten used to him, and while I occasionally watch (I do enjoy the "Headlines" segment on Monday nights), I just don't care for his version of "The Tonight Show" and I have never stopped missing Johnny Carson.
In the early 80's, I got to take a tour of the Burbank NBC studios, and saw the set of Johnny's "Tonight Show." (I think that may have been during the era of the backdrop of Lake Carson, my favorite of the backdrops - remember that crude little Loch Ness monster that used to occasionally go across the lake behind Johnny?) Johnny wasn't there when our tour group was going through the studio, but I remember his picture was giant size on the door of that studio - you definitely knew this was where King Johnny reigned!
So many of the celebrities I grew up with are gone now, but Johnny is one of the ones I miss most of all.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Chief Justice flubbed, not the President!
I'm not a supporter of the new President, and did not vote for him. But I'm getting tired of reading stories tonight about how the President flubbed his oath of office.
No, he did not. The Chief Justice flubbed. The oath reads, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States..." The Chief Justice gave this line as "I will execute faithfully to the office of President, etc." The President started to repeat this and realized it was wrong and stopped, waiting for the CJ to correct himself. I had the feeling the CJ then proceeded to temporarily forget the words (much like someone forgetting the words to the National Anthem) and there was a long awkward moment while they looked at each other, and the CJ said the line incorrectly again, and the President in what was basically a "oh well, let's go along with this" moment, repeated the line in the incorrect way the CJ had stated it, and the oath proceeded.
But this was not Obama's fault, it was the Chief Justice's fault, and a very embarrassing moment for the CJ on his first time administering the oath to a President. And while I am not an Obama supporter, I do not like seeing him made fun of for something that was not his fault.
Get it right, people!
I am glad I took the day off work. I watched everything from the departure from Blair House up to tonight's inaugural balls. Fox had good coverage; I enjoyed Chris Wallace and Brit Hume very much, as they were not quite as starry-eyed as the coverage on other networks. (I wouldn't even touch MSNBC.) I did like Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw on NBC, though; I've always thought they are two of the more fair network correspondents/hosts on the regular three networks. I watched them for most of the afternoon and enjoyed their commentary.
No, he did not. The Chief Justice flubbed. The oath reads, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States..." The Chief Justice gave this line as "I will execute faithfully to the office of President, etc." The President started to repeat this and realized it was wrong and stopped, waiting for the CJ to correct himself. I had the feeling the CJ then proceeded to temporarily forget the words (much like someone forgetting the words to the National Anthem) and there was a long awkward moment while they looked at each other, and the CJ said the line incorrectly again, and the President in what was basically a "oh well, let's go along with this" moment, repeated the line in the incorrect way the CJ had stated it, and the oath proceeded.
But this was not Obama's fault, it was the Chief Justice's fault, and a very embarrassing moment for the CJ on his first time administering the oath to a President. And while I am not an Obama supporter, I do not like seeing him made fun of for something that was not his fault.
Get it right, people!
I am glad I took the day off work. I watched everything from the departure from Blair House up to tonight's inaugural balls. Fox had good coverage; I enjoyed Chris Wallace and Brit Hume very much, as they were not quite as starry-eyed as the coverage on other networks. (I wouldn't even touch MSNBC.) I did like Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw on NBC, though; I've always thought they are two of the more fair network correspondents/hosts on the regular three networks. I watched them for most of the afternoon and enjoyed their commentary.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A new "Black Stallion" book
The "Black Stallion" and "Island Stallion" series of books by Walter Farley are my all-time favorite books, and have been since I was 9 years old and first discovered them at the library at my grade school. I've read them all so many times I have large chunks of them memorized.
Steven Farley, Walter Farley's son, has kept the series going, off and on, in recent years, with spotty success. He co-wrote, with his father, "The Young Black Stallion," and penned other books on his own after his father's death such as "The Black Stallion's Shadow," "The Black Stallion's Steeplechaser," and the aborted "Young Black Stallion" series which was not about the Black, but about a girl and her horse Raven who are taken under Alec Ramsay's tutelage and mentorship. That series ended prematurely, apparently due to low sales volume.
Now Mr. Farley has a new "Black Stallion" book out, "The Black Stallion and the Shape-Shifter." Set in Ireland, it seems to be an Irish folklore (or partial science fiction, take your pick) story about Alec and the Black encountering something called a kelpie, which is defined as a shape-shifting creature that carries people off into the ocean.
I'm reading this book, and it's ok, but I'm torn between being glad that Steven Farley is continuing his father's books, and wishing he'd let the books pass along with his father. He is not the writer his dad was, and his plots are not as interesting as his father's plots, and Alec and the Black just don't FEEL like Alec and the Black in these books. There isn't as much emphasis on the Black's untameable spirit, or on the incredible bond that Alec shares with the Black.
He did get some things right in this book. In his earlier attempts at continuing the series, Steven Farley had Alec be 16 years old and the Black was supposedly 6 years old. Fans of the original series know that in the third book, "Son of the Black Stallion," Alec was already going to college, so he had to be older than 16 already, and the Black was 7 years old when Alec got him back after Abu Ishak died in "The Black Stallion and Satan," so how could he suddenly be only 6 years old years later? Also, Alec and the Black race against a 2-year-old champion in a handicap race in "The Black Stallion's Shadow." Huh? Since when do 2-year-old colts race in handicaps against established handicap stars like the Black?
In this book, the Black's age is given as "well into his teens," and Alec is apparently a young man as he was in the later books of the original series, so at least the ages are more correct.
I just wish his plots were more interesting and that the books had more of the "feel" of his father's books. Since the characters came out of his father's imagination and heart, that would be impossible.
I'll finish reading this book, and I'll put it on my shelf with the other "Black Stallion" books. But to me, this isn't a true "Black Stallion" book; only the ones written by Walter Farley were. Steven tries hard, but Alec and the Black died with Walter Farley. (I wonder if Steven is going to try to write an "Island Stallion" book? It would be interesting to see how he handles the characters of Steve Duncan and Flame.)
What's rather surreal is remembering being 10 years old and being in my bedroom with my nose buried in one of the original "Black Stallion" books, reading them for the very first time. I still live in the same house I lived in at age 10, and here I am, in that very same bedroom, with my nose once again buried in a "Black Stallion" book I haven't read before, at the age of 47! The more things change, the more they stay the same!
Steven Farley, Walter Farley's son, has kept the series going, off and on, in recent years, with spotty success. He co-wrote, with his father, "The Young Black Stallion," and penned other books on his own after his father's death such as "The Black Stallion's Shadow," "The Black Stallion's Steeplechaser," and the aborted "Young Black Stallion" series which was not about the Black, but about a girl and her horse Raven who are taken under Alec Ramsay's tutelage and mentorship. That series ended prematurely, apparently due to low sales volume.
Now Mr. Farley has a new "Black Stallion" book out, "The Black Stallion and the Shape-Shifter." Set in Ireland, it seems to be an Irish folklore (or partial science fiction, take your pick) story about Alec and the Black encountering something called a kelpie, which is defined as a shape-shifting creature that carries people off into the ocean.
I'm reading this book, and it's ok, but I'm torn between being glad that Steven Farley is continuing his father's books, and wishing he'd let the books pass along with his father. He is not the writer his dad was, and his plots are not as interesting as his father's plots, and Alec and the Black just don't FEEL like Alec and the Black in these books. There isn't as much emphasis on the Black's untameable spirit, or on the incredible bond that Alec shares with the Black.
He did get some things right in this book. In his earlier attempts at continuing the series, Steven Farley had Alec be 16 years old and the Black was supposedly 6 years old. Fans of the original series know that in the third book, "Son of the Black Stallion," Alec was already going to college, so he had to be older than 16 already, and the Black was 7 years old when Alec got him back after Abu Ishak died in "The Black Stallion and Satan," so how could he suddenly be only 6 years old years later? Also, Alec and the Black race against a 2-year-old champion in a handicap race in "The Black Stallion's Shadow." Huh? Since when do 2-year-old colts race in handicaps against established handicap stars like the Black?
In this book, the Black's age is given as "well into his teens," and Alec is apparently a young man as he was in the later books of the original series, so at least the ages are more correct.
I just wish his plots were more interesting and that the books had more of the "feel" of his father's books. Since the characters came out of his father's imagination and heart, that would be impossible.
I'll finish reading this book, and I'll put it on my shelf with the other "Black Stallion" books. But to me, this isn't a true "Black Stallion" book; only the ones written by Walter Farley were. Steven tries hard, but Alec and the Black died with Walter Farley. (I wonder if Steven is going to try to write an "Island Stallion" book? It would be interesting to see how he handles the characters of Steve Duncan and Flame.)
What's rather surreal is remembering being 10 years old and being in my bedroom with my nose buried in one of the original "Black Stallion" books, reading them for the very first time. I still live in the same house I lived in at age 10, and here I am, in that very same bedroom, with my nose once again buried in a "Black Stallion" book I haven't read before, at the age of 47! The more things change, the more they stay the same!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Presidential inaugurations
Ok, here we are, about to inaugurate our new president in a couple days. I will be home from work to watch the inauguration. I have seen every presidential inauguration since Nixon's second inaugural in 1973, when I was just 11 years old.
Over the years, that string has required some juggling on my part. For Carter's inauguration, I had to rearrange the schedule of semester exams in high school. (I had a shorthand class - by the way, does anybody use shorthand anymore? - exam, and I arranged with my shorthand teacher to take the exam a day earlier so I could get out of school early enough on Inauguration Day to see Carter get sworn in). For Reagan's first inaugural in 1981, I (gasp) called in sick to work. (Margaret, if you're out there anywhere and if you even remember me, when I called in sick on January 20, 1981, I wasn't really sick. Can you discipline me 28 years after the fact?)
Every other inauguration either occurred on a weekend, or I was able to take a vacation day and stay home to watch the festitivies, which is what I will be doing on Tuesday.
But with this particular inauguration, I very nearly decided to break my string and skip it. As the (very few so far) readers of my silly little blog know, I am not an Obama supporter. I think his politics are socialist, I think the people he's hung out with over the years are creepy, and I seriously question if he's even eligible to be president under the Constitution. (What's with hiding his birth certificate, and all his records from birth to present time? What if it comes out at some point in time that he really was born in Kenya? Why did the Supreme Court not have the cajones to investigate or cause an investigation to occur, into his background?)
But in the long run, I decided I have to watch this inauguration too, despite my misgivings and forebodings. It is, after all, history of one kind or another, even if it's not history I particularly agree with or wish to see happen. By taking the day off work, I can give myself the choice of whether or not to watch it or turn the TV off. If I went to work on Tuesday, I'd probably wind up listening to the swearing-in on the radio and kicking myself for not staying home.
So on Tuesday, I will be up at 5:00 a.m. to begin watching C-Span (I'd rather watch their coverage so I don't have to listen to the inane babblings of network commentators all agog over their Messiah taking office; on C-Span there is a merciful silence, just coverage of the proceedings with no commentary), and I'll watch everything that takes place, just as I do every four years for every inauguration of every president.
By the way, I love cable! I remember in those early years of watching inaugurations, I used to get so frustrated when the three networks, which were all we had back then, cut away after the new president arrived at the viewing stand to watch the parade; they didn't show the parade itself, or anything of the inaugural balls. Today, with cable, we see everything from the President-Elect departing Blair House, his arrival at the White House to visit with the outgoing president, the ride to the Capitol, all the patriotic ceremonies and music at the Capitol, the inaugural parade, the inaugural balls, everything is covered on cable.
P.S. What is up with this countdown clock on CNN? I don't remember ever seeing a clock counting down the hours and minutes until an inauguration before, and I've been watching presidential swearings-in for decades! This is more than slightly ridiculous! Are they THAT eager to get rid of George Bush and get Obama into office? You would think the Beatles were all still alive and reuniting at noon tomorrow, and not a presidential transition. Good grief!
Over the years, that string has required some juggling on my part. For Carter's inauguration, I had to rearrange the schedule of semester exams in high school. (I had a shorthand class - by the way, does anybody use shorthand anymore? - exam, and I arranged with my shorthand teacher to take the exam a day earlier so I could get out of school early enough on Inauguration Day to see Carter get sworn in). For Reagan's first inaugural in 1981, I (gasp) called in sick to work. (Margaret, if you're out there anywhere and if you even remember me, when I called in sick on January 20, 1981, I wasn't really sick. Can you discipline me 28 years after the fact?)
Every other inauguration either occurred on a weekend, or I was able to take a vacation day and stay home to watch the festitivies, which is what I will be doing on Tuesday.
But with this particular inauguration, I very nearly decided to break my string and skip it. As the (very few so far) readers of my silly little blog know, I am not an Obama supporter. I think his politics are socialist, I think the people he's hung out with over the years are creepy, and I seriously question if he's even eligible to be president under the Constitution. (What's with hiding his birth certificate, and all his records from birth to present time? What if it comes out at some point in time that he really was born in Kenya? Why did the Supreme Court not have the cajones to investigate or cause an investigation to occur, into his background?)
But in the long run, I decided I have to watch this inauguration too, despite my misgivings and forebodings. It is, after all, history of one kind or another, even if it's not history I particularly agree with or wish to see happen. By taking the day off work, I can give myself the choice of whether or not to watch it or turn the TV off. If I went to work on Tuesday, I'd probably wind up listening to the swearing-in on the radio and kicking myself for not staying home.
So on Tuesday, I will be up at 5:00 a.m. to begin watching C-Span (I'd rather watch their coverage so I don't have to listen to the inane babblings of network commentators all agog over their Messiah taking office; on C-Span there is a merciful silence, just coverage of the proceedings with no commentary), and I'll watch everything that takes place, just as I do every four years for every inauguration of every president.
By the way, I love cable! I remember in those early years of watching inaugurations, I used to get so frustrated when the three networks, which were all we had back then, cut away after the new president arrived at the viewing stand to watch the parade; they didn't show the parade itself, or anything of the inaugural balls. Today, with cable, we see everything from the President-Elect departing Blair House, his arrival at the White House to visit with the outgoing president, the ride to the Capitol, all the patriotic ceremonies and music at the Capitol, the inaugural parade, the inaugural balls, everything is covered on cable.
P.S. What is up with this countdown clock on CNN? I don't remember ever seeing a clock counting down the hours and minutes until an inauguration before, and I've been watching presidential swearings-in for decades! This is more than slightly ridiculous! Are they THAT eager to get rid of George Bush and get Obama into office? You would think the Beatles were all still alive and reuniting at noon tomorrow, and not a presidential transition. Good grief!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Ray Price
35 years ago tonight, I attended one of the best concerts I've ever been to, when my mom and I went to Symphony Hall at the Civic Plaza in downtown Phoenix and saw country legend Ray Price. It must have been some concert, for me to remember it so fondly and so well all these years later!
Ray sang that night to a sold-out audience. The show was sponsored by local country station KJ radio (long off the air now). January 12 is Ray Price's birthday, and Ray Odom, who was either the president or general manager or both of KJ radio (can't remember that detail now after so many years!) told the audience that when Ray came out on stage, we should all sing Happy Birthday to him - and we did! Ray had no idea that Mr. Odom had asked the audience to do that, and he was so tickled, and probably a little embarrassed! I remember him saying, in that Texas twang of his, "Ah'm supposed to sing for you all, not the other way around!" He sang so many of his great hits that night, including my mom's favorite, "I'd Rather Be Sorry," and he did a beautiful version of "Danny Boy" that left me with a lump in my throat and tears running down my face. As Mom said after the concert that night, he had the audience in the palm of his hand.
We saw Ray in concert several more times over the years, and I saw him at the Celebrity Theatre here in Phoenix just a couple years ago, and he still has that magnificent, wonderful voice. Now in his 80s, he can still sing with the best of them, like he did when he was in his 40s.
Happy Birthday again, Mr. Price! You have long been one of my family's cherished favorites!
http://www.officialraypricefanclub.com/
Ray sang that night to a sold-out audience. The show was sponsored by local country station KJ radio (long off the air now). January 12 is Ray Price's birthday, and Ray Odom, who was either the president or general manager or both of KJ radio (can't remember that detail now after so many years!) told the audience that when Ray came out on stage, we should all sing Happy Birthday to him - and we did! Ray had no idea that Mr. Odom had asked the audience to do that, and he was so tickled, and probably a little embarrassed! I remember him saying, in that Texas twang of his, "Ah'm supposed to sing for you all, not the other way around!" He sang so many of his great hits that night, including my mom's favorite, "I'd Rather Be Sorry," and he did a beautiful version of "Danny Boy" that left me with a lump in my throat and tears running down my face. As Mom said after the concert that night, he had the audience in the palm of his hand.
We saw Ray in concert several more times over the years, and I saw him at the Celebrity Theatre here in Phoenix just a couple years ago, and he still has that magnificent, wonderful voice. Now in his 80s, he can still sing with the best of them, like he did when he was in his 40s.
Happy Birthday again, Mr. Price! You have long been one of my family's cherished favorites!
http://www.officialraypricefanclub.com/
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