Few things are prettier than the view from an airliner's window seat on a clear or semi-clear day. Few places also make one so gently or pleasantly lightheaded, particularly with a $6 Canadian and Soda in hand. So, some airborne musings are in order...
A Close Encounter with John McCain
I saw John McCain on my way out of Phoenix this morning. No, not on TV or a billboard or on a yard sign of a diehard in deep denial. No, the actual Senator from Arizona, waiting in the United/Continental departure lounge at Phoenix' Sky Harbor Airport, all 72+years of his freed POWness, about 15 meters away.
I normally avoid celebrities. And when given a chance to avoid a celebrity who accuses other celebrities of being celebrities, my instincts reared up again. For what would I say to Arizona's Senior Senator?
"That was a damn fine concession speech, Senator McCain"? "What was it that you were smoking when you picked that wacky Tina Fey lookalike as your running mate"? "Would you actually trust a clogged toilet in one of your homes to Joe the Unlicensed Plumber"? No I was having none of that. But as I allowed myself to indulge in some unexpressed partisan snarkiness, I noticed I had left my camera at my parents' house in Scottsdale. And as I boarded the Washington Dulles-bound Airbus, I only quickly recalled that my new Blackberry could have recorded this near-brush with near-greatness.
Backing Bret Bielema
Back in 2005 (or was it 2004?), I had the pleasure to meet Wisconsin Football Coach (American Gridiron, that is) Bret Bielema at a gathering of the Badger faithful in a Washington, DC pub. Bielema impressed me with his sense of perspective and his acceptance of the nature of the big time coach's role-the CEO of a multi-million dollar enterprise who is completely held responsible for that enterprise's on and off-field results.
This year, the results haven't been that great for the Badgers, a 7-5 season including three narrow league losses and a narrow overtime win over lower-division competition. And despite several 9+ win seasons, some of my fellow Badgers bray for Bielema's head.
Sure, Bielema made some mistakes this year. But I for one think he has the ability to learn from his mistakes. I also think, as a Badger who can remember the 0-11 seasons under previous coaches, some of my fellow Badgers have become jaded.
What makes Badgerdom unique among American college teams are our raucous "5th Quarter"post-game celebrations--win or lose. While the 5th Quarter tradition has continued unabated (save for a one-match suspension of the Band for off-field excesses), the underlying spirit is being undermined by a sense of expectation. Such a sense of expectation--indeed of entitlement--will do the Badgers far more ill than another season with Bielema at the helm.
Grisette--The Best Light Beer of All Time
I'm not a light beer fan. But, one major discovery of my return to Belgium is a light beer that really tastes great--and really is less filling. I speak not of an American brew but a Belgian offering called Grisette Blonde. Grisette comes from Belgium's storied St. Feullien brewery, which brews a number of high-octane abbey brews under its saintly moniker, but Grisette is a paradigm shft. Grisette Blonde is, at 4.1% alcohol, rather weak compared to most abbey blonds, but balances that weakness with a spicy and yeasty flavor generally unknown in such a lower-alcohol brew.
It's become a house favorite--real flavor without the heaviness of traditional Belgian brews or their concomitant alcoholic punch. And for all the grandeur of the heavy and storied trappist and abbey ales, something that tastes good with a burger has its place.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Obamelot, Slumdog Millionaire, and Hip Hip Harry
Obamelot...or "Politics as Team Sport"
Despite the portent of economic gloom and little but the scattered shards of the national piggy bank with which to fight it, the beatific glow left by Barack Obama's decisive, historic and world-changing Presidential victory had not yet left Washington when I returned four days afterward. One of my IABC friends said on her facebook page "Obama is bigger than Kennedy." I replied "Obama is bigger than the Kennedy family."
For one who enjoys gratuitous hyperbole as much as I do, the events of election week still leave me flabbergasted. In sports terms, this election was the combination of The World Cup, a heavyweight championship and a Civil War rolled into a single encounter.
It is impossible to overestimate the bigness of this election. In one swell foop, America not only elected its first Black president, it also decided to rejoin the human race. It validated the newfound political enthusiasm of today's youth, and sounded the political arrival of today's middle age. It signalled the political color change of three states of the Old Confederacy, and gave my home state of Illinois a second president to call her own--yet neither Lincoln nor Obama were native sons.
What makes this election massive, as I learned quickly, was the sense of shared ownership of this victory. Obama didn't win this election. "We" won this election. The sweeping electoral college margin belied a narrow popular vote victory and razor-thin wins in a good number of key states, eked out through tremendous campaign discipline and the steadfastness of the millions of supporters who streamed to the polls and--all too often--queued in seemingly endless lines.
It is perhaps this sense of the broad partnership Barack Obama has forged with us supporters that the percentage of Americans who think Obama's presidency will be a success was 62% in a recent poll, well exceeding his margin of victory and even belying the massive economic mess he has inherited. Politics in America is once again a team sport--and perhaps so to is governing. For me, that's Change I can Believe In.
Slumdog Millionaire
It has been a while since I last went to the cinema, but one film that has left quite an impression is Slumdog Millionaire--a film about the unlikely victory of a humble "chaiwalla" (tea-boy) on India's version of So You Want To Be A Millionaire (or whatever it's callled).
What struck me about the film were a number of things--breathtaking cinematography of the best and ugliest scenes India has to offer, an innovative use of flashback until the final climactic scene, and the outstanding acting of the child actors who featured prominently in the flashback scenes. I will leave the details to the viewing--but I recommend this film very highly.
Hip Hip Harry!
One of the low points of 2008 was the collapse in the form of my beloved Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, which failed to win a single match until the much-needed ouster of enigmatic and taciturn Spanish coach Juande Ramos. His replacement, the far more expressive, transparent and English Harry Redknapp, has turned the Yid Army's fortunes around, with Tottenham yielding one loss in our last six matches and moving from bottom position to a more promising if not comfortable fifteenth position out of 20.
While it is unlikely Tottenham will be able to continue at this pace, most observers think Redknapp and Tottenham will now be able to avoid the bottom three league places that form the trap door of "relegation", soccer's quaint tradition of ejecting poor performers from a higher league and replacing them with top performers from a lower league.
Indeed, two big wins over Liverpool, a gen-u-wine top flight contender, has some of us Yids thinking bigger, and Tottenham has indeed qualified for the League Cup quarterfinals and could end up repeating as League Cup winners. Still though, simply having a manager who transparently knows what he is doing is reassuring. YID ARMY!!!
Despite the portent of economic gloom and little but the scattered shards of the national piggy bank with which to fight it, the beatific glow left by Barack Obama's decisive, historic and world-changing Presidential victory had not yet left Washington when I returned four days afterward. One of my IABC friends said on her facebook page "Obama is bigger than Kennedy." I replied "Obama is bigger than the Kennedy family."
For one who enjoys gratuitous hyperbole as much as I do, the events of election week still leave me flabbergasted. In sports terms, this election was the combination of The World Cup, a heavyweight championship and a Civil War rolled into a single encounter.
It is impossible to overestimate the bigness of this election. In one swell foop, America not only elected its first Black president, it also decided to rejoin the human race. It validated the newfound political enthusiasm of today's youth, and sounded the political arrival of today's middle age. It signalled the political color change of three states of the Old Confederacy, and gave my home state of Illinois a second president to call her own--yet neither Lincoln nor Obama were native sons.
What makes this election massive, as I learned quickly, was the sense of shared ownership of this victory. Obama didn't win this election. "We" won this election. The sweeping electoral college margin belied a narrow popular vote victory and razor-thin wins in a good number of key states, eked out through tremendous campaign discipline and the steadfastness of the millions of supporters who streamed to the polls and--all too often--queued in seemingly endless lines.
It is perhaps this sense of the broad partnership Barack Obama has forged with us supporters that the percentage of Americans who think Obama's presidency will be a success was 62% in a recent poll, well exceeding his margin of victory and even belying the massive economic mess he has inherited. Politics in America is once again a team sport--and perhaps so to is governing. For me, that's Change I can Believe In.
Slumdog Millionaire
It has been a while since I last went to the cinema, but one film that has left quite an impression is Slumdog Millionaire--a film about the unlikely victory of a humble "chaiwalla" (tea-boy) on India's version of So You Want To Be A Millionaire (or whatever it's callled).
What struck me about the film were a number of things--breathtaking cinematography of the best and ugliest scenes India has to offer, an innovative use of flashback until the final climactic scene, and the outstanding acting of the child actors who featured prominently in the flashback scenes. I will leave the details to the viewing--but I recommend this film very highly.
Hip Hip Harry!
One of the low points of 2008 was the collapse in the form of my beloved Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, which failed to win a single match until the much-needed ouster of enigmatic and taciturn Spanish coach Juande Ramos. His replacement, the far more expressive, transparent and English Harry Redknapp, has turned the Yid Army's fortunes around, with Tottenham yielding one loss in our last six matches and moving from bottom position to a more promising if not comfortable fifteenth position out of 20.
While it is unlikely Tottenham will be able to continue at this pace, most observers think Redknapp and Tottenham will now be able to avoid the bottom three league places that form the trap door of "relegation", soccer's quaint tradition of ejecting poor performers from a higher league and replacing them with top performers from a lower league.
Indeed, two big wins over Liverpool, a gen-u-wine top flight contender, has some of us Yids thinking bigger, and Tottenham has indeed qualified for the League Cup quarterfinals and could end up repeating as League Cup winners. Still though, simply having a manager who transparently knows what he is doing is reassuring. YID ARMY!!!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Running out of Blog?
It's been a long while since I've posted anything. I'm sure this has left many of my readers concerned, so I figured I should come up for air and reassure you about a number of things.
1. I am still in Brussels.
2. I have not opted to join the Federal Witness Protection Program.
3. Yes, I noticed that Tottenham Hotspur was last in the English Premiership until yesterday, following the dramatic jettisoning of the uncommunicative Spanish coach Juande Ramos and his replacement by the ever-loquacious Cockney, Harry Redknapp.
4. I did not fall into doubt about Barack Obama or swoon at the red-meat appeal of Sarah Palin, ever-so-aptly named Moose-o-lini by her Alaska detractors.
5. I am still following the Wisconsin Badgers as our season descends into a bowl-free abyss.
6. I did not follow the Chicago Cubs' descent into baseball playoff futility, having abandoned hope at the outset.
7. I'm in the US more weekends than I am in Belgium so far. And I'll be in Washington this weekend and would love to see everyone.
8. I've seen Chicken McNuggets being made. And I still like them, too.
9. Despite still liking Chicken McNuggets, I've lost 7 pounds (3 kilos) in the last month.
10. I have a week off for Xmas and no plans for what to do with it.
11. I've joined an awesome English-language synagogue called the International Jewish Centre.
12. I've had a few new beers lately--best is Saison Regal, very flavorful, amber in colored, with a very refined flavor.
13. I remain single--but unbowed nonetheless.
So, that's the last two months in a nutshell. While I have been running out of Blog, I haven't been running out of things to do. My words will come back soon--and thanks for reading.
1. I am still in Brussels.
2. I have not opted to join the Federal Witness Protection Program.
3. Yes, I noticed that Tottenham Hotspur was last in the English Premiership until yesterday, following the dramatic jettisoning of the uncommunicative Spanish coach Juande Ramos and his replacement by the ever-loquacious Cockney, Harry Redknapp.
4. I did not fall into doubt about Barack Obama or swoon at the red-meat appeal of Sarah Palin, ever-so-aptly named Moose-o-lini by her Alaska detractors.
5. I am still following the Wisconsin Badgers as our season descends into a bowl-free abyss.
6. I did not follow the Chicago Cubs' descent into baseball playoff futility, having abandoned hope at the outset.
7. I'm in the US more weekends than I am in Belgium so far. And I'll be in Washington this weekend and would love to see everyone.
8. I've seen Chicken McNuggets being made. And I still like them, too.
9. Despite still liking Chicken McNuggets, I've lost 7 pounds (3 kilos) in the last month.
10. I have a week off for Xmas and no plans for what to do with it.
11. I've joined an awesome English-language synagogue called the International Jewish Centre.
12. I've had a few new beers lately--best is Saison Regal, very flavorful, amber in colored, with a very refined flavor.
13. I remain single--but unbowed nonetheless.
So, that's the last two months in a nutshell. While I have been running out of Blog, I haven't been running out of things to do. My words will come back soon--and thanks for reading.
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