October 10, 2005

The Fifth Season

October is creeping along and it's certainly gotten to the point here in Indiana where I probably ought to be wearing a jacket to work in the mornings. This is always a warning to me that I'm heading into that fifth season of the year: Birthday Season.

You see, my mom's birthday is the 20th, my sister's is the 22nd, my aunt's is the 24th and my partner's is the 26th. And then mine's November fourth. (And then my dad's followed up on the fifteenth.)

Like I said, Birthday Season.

In fact, as a kid, I didn't quite look forward to my birthday in quite the same way as other kids did. I saw October as No Money Month instead of seeing it as the impending arrival of Halloween, even though at that time I only had to worry about Mom's and my sister's birthdays (and then, after a little breather, Dad's).

Today I see October as the month to begin the annual harrangue for wish lists and the beginning of the internet shopping frenzy. You see, I canNOT buy presents early. In fact, I've been known to purposefully put off Christmas presents until December 24th. In fact, the days before Christmas are generally filled with this comment:
"Don't you wanna open up just one present now?"
"Are you sure? Just one present. Come on, open just one."

I can wait for my presents, but I can't wait to give a present. I want to see that person's face now, not in a month. Hence, the internet is perfect for me. I can watch as Amazon and other sites post in huge letters: Order by December 18 to ensure delivery by Christmas.

Besides, it's always better to shop from your recliner and find exactly what you're looking for rather than fighting through the unwashed masses as they stumble their way from shop to shop getting crankier and crankier. And who wants to drive in that traffic, anyway?

See, to me, I'd rather be happy during the holiday season rather than stressed out and cranky. Makes it a little bit easier for me to act with kindness and charity as the season tries to get us to do, rather than fight tooth and nail for the last best and greatest present. (Anyone remember the fights over Cabbage Patch dolls and Tickle-Me-Elmo?)

And, honestly, I'd rather do away with the tradition of gift-giving on a particular day anyhow. It's so much more meaningful when you see something that your sister or partner or kid would like, that you just get it and surprise them.

My two cents. What do you think?

Posted by Red Monkey at 10:21 AM | Comments (1) | Blog | Stumble

October 8, 2005

sleepy

Following up the Koala that wandered up an Australian's driveway, here's one of my favourite pictures from this summer's visit to the Brookfield zoo -- it's particularly perfect for a nice, lazy Saturday afternoon.

Posted by Red Monkey at 2:41 PM | Comments (1) | Blog | Stumble

October 6, 2005

Morning Driveway

Well, I discovered this early this morning. It's a link from Tuttle's page and I just had to share.

Here's a nice close-up of the driveway discovery:

So, for all of the times that you've awakened to a woodchuck in the driveway and thought, oh crap, I give you something to be greatful for.

And for those of us who've gone up against the woodchuck who thought he could take on a big-ass Buick LeSabre and win, all I gotta say is, Woodchuck go squish, but I'm thinking the Koala might win against the LeSabre!

(And, no, I did NOT squish the woodchuck. Any critter that rises up on the hind legs to challenge the LeSabre must have a secret weapon and I didn't wanna know what that would be!!)

Posted by Red Monkey at 4:21 AM | Comments (7) | Blog | Stumble

September 26, 2005

a disarming day

According to the BBC News, the "IRA 'has destroyed all its arms.'"

Since I was a little, little kid and decided that I was Irish (digging around in either side of the family tree was largely discouraged), I've been fascinated with the IRA. It was quite easy for me to see the injustice of how the English had treated the Irish, and for so very long. After all, the English are the bad guys in our own American story, so why should they have treated the Irish any better? (And later, I would find out it was also the Indians, the Welsh, the Scots, and a host of others as well.)

With that righteous indignation of a kid who does not know the whole story, I quickly decided that I would love to run away and join the Irish Republican Army and fight for justice against the oppressors. Of course, things weren't exactly that simple.

I'm excited today that the IRA did what it said it would do: decommission their arms. I worry, though, about the Unionists. For every gun or piece of armament the IRA was able to sneak into the country, the Unionists were sneaking in, by some estimates, three or four weapons as soldiers looked the other way.

But after the last few years of violence, I fear that the misguided Unionists who armed themselves in response to the IRA (who, to be fair, armed themselves against the extreme conditions perpetrated by the British army) are determined to keep the violence continuing.

Of course, that's what starts arms races, isn't it? That bone-chilling fear that the other guy has more arms or better arms and a willingness to use them against you.

So what ends an arms race? Blowing each other up will certainly end it. Generally considered bad form, but it does end that particular issue. Of course, you better make sure you eradicate everyone on the "Zooks'" side (to borrow from Dr. Seuss) or else you'll have a new generation of Zooks ready to nuke you later on.

What's another solution?
The one we see in cop shows. You know, where the cop talks the other dude into putting his gun down.

Why does he do it? He knows he's going to go to jail. He knows he's going to be punished for using or threatening to use that gun. But he puts it down.

He puts it down because to not do so is to court mutual destruction. Maybe he can shoot the cop before the cop shoots him ... maybe the cop's buddy will shoot him after anyway.

The IRA disarmed in hopes of getting the Unionists to disarm ... not in hopes of getting the British army to disarm, but so that the rival gang will also follow suit. Otherwise, the IRA and the Unionists will surely continue destroying what's left of Belfast, Londonderry and the six counties.

It's a scary moment, putting that weapon down. You've made yourself vulnerable. Trusting it's the right move. Trusting the others not to immediately kill you. Trusting that you won't have to defend yourself again.

Which takes more courage? To put that gun down or to shoot the man in front of you before he shoots you?

Yeah, I worry about the northern six counties quite a bit. But even though I think that neither violence nor peace solves everything, I do think the IRA made the right move. The political climate in the world at large more favours fair treatment of the Irish now than at any other time. And if the Unionists continue to make trouble, even the English people are ready to abandon the Unionists and let Ireland go completely.

Of course, the Unionists know this too. They've got to be both terrified and full of righteous rage. It's only to be hoped that the gesture of disarmament at least cracks a sliver of doubt into their fear and their rage.

Hopefully there can be a peace to end the terrible beauty and let the island relax at long last.

Posted by Red Monkey at 10:47 AM | Comments (1) | Blog | Stumble

September 22, 2005

Exhaustion and Happiness

I'm exhausted -- check out this site:
The Kilted Liberal

I'm still working with my buddy, Andy, to get a few details cleaned up, so it may be another couple of days before I get around to telling the story about the lizard and when me and my friends didn't realize lizard tails are designed to come off (and then regenerate).

Posted by Red Monkey at 5:50 AM | Comments (0) | Blog | Stumble

September 17, 2005

Notre Dame Loses

Yeah, so I'm still bitter. But I was really rooting for Michigan State today and I'm ecstatic that they beat the Irish.

Why? Well, Notre Dame let Ty Willingham go too soon. Between Ty and the beleaguered Davies, Notre Dame has made it quite clear that grades are no longer the main concern. I've heard professors, students and alumni all on campus say that it's not the grades or the education any more: it's the winning football games that bring in alumni (and tourist) money.

Notre Dame is fast becoming a football factory. It's not enough to have a winning season as Ty did last year. They have to have a "good" bowl game. They have to have the attention and adulation of everyone around them.

The school's administration is fast turning it into a stereotype of itself: a spoiled brat. And when the administration doesn't get its own way, they take their ball ... and give it to a new coach.

And that's not even mentioning the football alum who said that ND needs to lower their entrance standards for athletes to "get some more minority athletes" into the school. (And then, of course, they let Ty go.)

You know, it wouldn't be quite so bad if Notre Dame was honest about any of this. But to hear ND talk about the ND family ... how they all take care of each other ... then stand idly back and let the students assume that any black student on campus is only there because of sports or affirmative action ... or to ditch Ty after a winning season ... or to claim that the students all worked hard to get into ND, so they shouldn't be allowed to fail any of their freshman liberal arts classes ....
There's just something terribly wrong at the school.

Maybe if they admitted that they're a football factory and that they're in this "higher education racket" for the money and prestige instead of attempting to educate the leaders of the future, none of this would seem so incredibly hypocritical.

Right now, I just hope that the football team loses a lot more games this season. Otherwise, they might just think that their poor education practices and their poor treatment of their "ND family" is being rewarded.

I hope Ty is doing all right. He deserved a lot better than what he got at Notre Dame. And while it grates against my nerves to root against anything Irish (even Notre Dame), I'll be spending the rest of the season hoping this isn't the only loss this season -- the more they lose, the better chance the students will remember they're there to learn and not quite so much to drink and party.

God, I miss teaching.

(And no, I wouldn't ever have been this blunt and bitter with my students. I'd try to get them to think occasionally, but not crush their excitement.)

Posted by Red Monkey at 7:37 PM | Comments (2) | Blog | Stumble