Todays news included more violence in Iraq with the spectacle of dragging bodies throught the streets.
After reading quite abit about the conflict in Somalia and now Iraq I am always left wondering about how low the human condition can sink when people think that defiling dead bodies is a a way to celebrate a triumph against anyone. Is it the case that anyone of us could sink this low if given the proper stimulus and context, or is this the kind of behaviour that can only result from an upbringing in a society where hatred and de-humanization is justified from a very early age.
I don't know exactly how to answer this question as there have been some cases of similiar crimes in therecent history of the U.S. motivated by racial and sex-preference hatred. Thankfully, those perpetrators were prosecuted. I hope the perpetrators in this case come to justice as well.
It's hard to even comprehend the horror that humans sometimes visit upon each other at times.
Generalities: March 2004 Archives
It's melting here in Minnesota. The pond out back is almost free of ice and birds are returning en masse. The ducks and geese are busy preparing for nesting, and we seem to have a surplus of what I identify as red finches. It was so nice to eb able to go outside, last week anyway, without a jacket and be able to smell things. I am really looking forward to being able to sleep with an open window again. Deprivation really makes you appreciate the small things in life.
I mentioned a while back that Berkeley Breathed was going to revisit Opus and theoretically parts of Bloom County in a new Sunday only comic strip. Lo and behold this happened. The intial results were somewhat uneven and didn't seem quite as funny as I had expected. However, the strip that appeared on Sunday, March 28th, where Opus considers the youthful drooping pants style and debates with his better angels of his nature.
This strip for me recaptured the pure pleasure of the 80's Bloom County. It was a funny commentary on modern life that was, for lack of a better term, naive and sweet, while still being able to keep a deft comedic edge. I sincerely hope that this is going to be the norm for this new cartoon.
I can't seem to find an on-line image, but it's posted on the cupboard at home and my office door at work.
A relative of my wife's is getting married in April. The happy couple asked us if Matthew could be the ring bearer. We agreed, although I confess I am still somewhat shocked at the price of tuxedo rentals for four year olds. We explained the resposibilities to Matthew who agreed that he could hold up his end of the bargain. Yes, I know it's not like he has to take the ring to Mordor, but I have seen pre-schoolers make scenes about this kind of thing before.
Jeannie was taking Matthew to be fitted for his tuxedo on Saturday. Matthew was very excited and asked Jeannie "Mommy, are we getting a bear suit?" "No, why would we get a bear suit," she replied. Matthew a little puzzled asked "I thought I was going to be a ring bear?" This amuses me to no end. He thought he would be the ring bear ... ha, you may have to be a parent to really laugh about this.
Spent last week in Newton, MA, working. Usually I have very good luck traveling. This trip was a bit of an exception.
The trip featured the following mishaps.The plane I took left the ground about 40 minutes later than planned, due to maintenance paperwork and some forgotten luggage. When we arrived in Boston the jetway wouldn't stretch out to meet us. That meet that an entire planelod of people, mostly with nervous bladders had stood up, removed their luggage from the over head bin, and were standing in the aisles waiting for the doors to open. It wasn't to be. Instead we had to taxi to some far off location. Once at my destination, one of my traveling companions had to wait a very long time for his luggage, no doubt they had moved the plane before all the luggage had been removed.
Then at my hotel, the Newton Marriot, the clerk transposed my room number and price per day. So instead of thinking I was in room 179, I thought I was in room 151. Unfortunately, the hotel has no room #151. So I had to trudge all the way back to the desk. Additionally, this hotel is built into a hill so there is a mind bending converstation after they give you their key while they explain that yes you are on the ground floor, but you will need to go down the elevator to get to the first floor. Then to top it off, every dau of my stay the magnetic key was unable to open my door. Did I mention the closet door was also off the track. At least coming home wasn't so bad. I still don't know how happy I am to be paying extra for airline food.
O.K., I know it's not like I was stranded in Antarctica, with nothing but ice for toilet paper, but this is America, I'm entitled to whine a bit.
