Monday! It’s sunny and warm here in the heartland of the energy sector. I’m a little hung over from the elimination of my team last night. I have to stop putting so much emotion into my appreciation of sports. I think my fretting and overt hand wringing gave me more (and very unwelcome…) grey hairs. I don’t need any more, the tide in war for hair colour has turned, and the grey in marching slowly towards total victory.
The warmer weather is a nice respite from the shit we’ve put up with for the last couple of weeks. The warm wind on my face felt really wonderful, almost like a kiss on the cheek from someone you really care about. It made the early morning commute feel a little more civilized. I really thought I was beginning to crack up a little from the abuse the nearly never ending winter was plying on.
This morning, I saw a flock of birds flying in formation, like little tiny fighter planes, tweeting and twittering as they surrounded a tree, then, in unison, they all came in for a landing as if this was their very own Spruce aircraft hanger. Their frenetic chirping changed, and became more musical as they nestled into its drooping branches.
I stood on the deck stock still, with the dog in tow, convening our morning constitutional, and I managed to slip out a hushed a sigh of relief. I drew in a puff of smoke, and let the moment be what it was, perfect. Truthfully I think even Juniper was caught up by the moment.
The birds are home for the spring and summer and it’s about bloody time too. They seem to come later and later each year. (Although I have no proof of that, perhaps I’m just getting old, and it just appears to be longer…) I like the birds pretty much the same way I like the smell of warm dirt and big lilac blossoms. They all remind me of summer. (All that’s missing is a strawberry slurpee and a dozy nap in the sun.)
I’m on the road this weekend. I will be hitting the booming metropolis of Nelson on Thursday, then off to Cranbrook for a couple of weekend dates.
I’ll fill you in on the progress of this interior assault as the days go by.
More to come later.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Lee Iacocca speaks with conviction...
I thought this was interesting...
Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
By Lee Iacocca with Catherine Whitney
04/11/07
Had Enough? Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's
happening?
Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've
got a
gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff,
we've got
corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a
hurricane
much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits
around and
nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course." Stay the
course?
You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll
give you a
sound bite: Throw the bums out! You might think I'm getting senile, that
I've gone
off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly
recognize
this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free
pass to
ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of
lies.
Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the
wealthy
(thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the
innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the
Middle East
is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving
pom-poms
instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my
parents and
yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How about you? I'll go a step further. You can't call
yourself a
patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to
have. My
friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old.
Leave the
rage to the young people." I'd love to, as soon as I can pry them away
from their
iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak
up because
it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a
reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not
pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those
young folks
who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent
their
interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us. Who Are These Guys,
Anyway? Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in
Washington?
Well, we voted for them, or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you
what we
didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to
stop
asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of
people who
call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a
democracy.
And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal
Democrats.
That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're
in this
stew. We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common
principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.
Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us
stand
taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What
happened to
the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this
country
when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do
better. Where
have all the leaders gone?
The Test of a Leader
I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a
few things
about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points, not ten (I
don't want
people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses). I call them the "Nine Cs of
Leadership."
They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every
true
leader should have. We should look at how the current administration
stacks up. Like
it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we
can learn
something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the
leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the
country. It's
up to us to choose wisely.
A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the
"Yes, sir"
crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world
is a big,
complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper.
"I just
scan the headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the President
of the
United States and he never reads a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said,
"Were it
left to me to decide whether we should have a government without
newspapers, or
newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to
prefer the
latter." Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym,
with Fox News
piped through the sound system, he's ready to go.
If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas,
he grows
stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's
right? The
inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you
already
know it all, or you just don't care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush
made a
big point of saying he didn't listen to the polls. Yeah, that's what they
all say
when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70
percent of the
people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a "thumping" on
election day
to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he wasn't listening so
much as he
was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right.
A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something
different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on
never
changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid
someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbingly
messianic fervor
to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with
Bush a few
months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office
outlining
his concerns to the President, the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the
disbanded
Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. "The President was
serene," Joe
recalled. "He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and
that all
would be well. 'Mr. President,' I finally said, 'how can you be so sure
when you
don't yet know all the facts?'" Bush then reached over and put a steadying
hand on
Joe's shoulder. "My instincts," he said. "My instincts." Joe was
flabbergasted. He
told Bush,"Mr. President, your instincts aren't good enough." Joe Biden
sure didn't
think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn't.
Leadership is all
about managing change, whether you're leading a company or leading a
country. Things
change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day
they covered
that at Harvard Business School.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the
mouth or
spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the
truth. Nobody
in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore.
Instead,
they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not
really as
bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can
start to
drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the
truth,
even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand
failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when
the wolf was
at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the
casualties and
chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.
A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the
difference between
right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln
once
said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power." George Bush
has a lot
of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a
willingness to take
bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows
little regard
for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention
hundreds of
thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths. For what? To build
our oil
reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have
him killed?
To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are
questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of
character
does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.
A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for
female
leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush
comes from a
blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You
know, My
gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean
posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the
negotiating table
and talk.
If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know
it will
cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the
audience has
been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall
meetings last
year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were
all
softballs.
To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION, a fire in your belly. You've
got to
have passion. You've got to really want to get something done. How do you
measure
fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation
days
taken by a U.S. President, four hundred and counting. He'd rather clear
brush on his
ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an
interviewer
that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a
seven-and-a-half-pound
perch in his hand-stocked lake. It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress
was in
session only ninety-seven days in 2006. That's eleven days less than the
record set
in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress.
Most
people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing
to show for
it. But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now,
that's not
leadership.
A leader should have CHARISMA. I'm not talking about being flashy.
Charisma is the
quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire.
People
follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of charisma.
Maybe
George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game.
But put
him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he
doesn't
look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he
enjoys so
much don't go over that well with world leaders. Just ask German
Chancellor Angela
Merkel, who received an unwelcome shoulder massage from our President at a
G-8
Summit. When he came up behind her and started squeezing, I thought she
was going to
go right through the roof.
A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got
to know
what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround
yourself with
people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA
President.
Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first MBA
President,
we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life
support, and
we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq. And
that's just
for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest
problems we face
as a nation seem to be on the back burner.
You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE. I call this Charlie
Beacham's
rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of
my first
jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. My boss was
a guy
named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie
was a big
Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile, and a core of steel. Charlie
used to
tell me, "Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got going for you as a
human being is
your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don't know a dip of
horseshit
from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it." George Bush
doesn't have
common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know,
Mr.they'll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behind-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished
Bush. Former President Bill Clinton once said, "I grew up in an alcoholic
home. I
spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world, and I
like it
here." I think our current President should visit the real world once in a
while.
The Biggest C is Crisis Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged
in times of
crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk
theory. Or
send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield
yourself.
It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down. On
September 11,
2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history.
We needed a
steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was
reading a
story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks.
He kept
sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It's all
on tape.
You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route
back to
Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked
people of this
country, he decided it wasn't safe to return to the White House. He
basically went
into hiding for the day, and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay
put in his
bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits,
waiting for
our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody
home. It
took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo
op at
Ground Zero. That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed.
And what
did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to
Iraq, a road
his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush
didn't
listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on
being faith
based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you,I
don't know
what will.
A Hell of a Mess.
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for
winning
and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history
of the
country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great
companies
are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing,
and
nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our
borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which
way. These
are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders
gone?"
Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of
character,
courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for
alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making
us take off
our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of
dollars
building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to
things that
have already happened. Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of
Hurricane
Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to
the
hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in
the
crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed,
hoping it
doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it.
Make a
plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can
restore our
competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there
could ever be
a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did
this happen,
and more important, what are we going to do about it? Name me a government
leader
who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy
crisis, or
managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are
the crises
that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your
asses and
do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our
greatness
is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some
bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't
you guys
show some spine for a change? Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the
voice of
gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because
I have
hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of
living through
some of America's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our
worst crises,
the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Kennedy
assassination, the
Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years
culminating
with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: You don't get anywhere by
standing
on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's
building a
better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a
role to play.
That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to action for
people who,
like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty
close. So
let's shake off the horseshit and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had
enough.
Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
By Lee Iacocca with Catherine Whitney
04/11/07
Had Enough? Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's
happening?
Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've
got a
gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff,
we've got
corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a
hurricane
much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits
around and
nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course." Stay the
course?
You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll
give you a
sound bite: Throw the bums out! You might think I'm getting senile, that
I've gone
off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly
recognize
this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free
pass to
ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of
lies.
Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the
wealthy
(thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the
innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the
Middle East
is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving
pom-poms
instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my
parents and
yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How about you? I'll go a step further. You can't call
yourself a
patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to
have. My
friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old.
Leave the
rage to the young people." I'd love to, as soon as I can pry them away
from their
iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak
up because
it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a
reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not
pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those
young folks
who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent
their
interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us. Who Are These Guys,
Anyway? Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in
Washington?
Well, we voted for them, or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you
what we
didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to
stop
asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of
people who
call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a
democracy.
And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal
Democrats.
That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're
in this
stew. We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common
principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.
Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us
stand
taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What
happened to
the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this
country
when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do
better. Where
have all the leaders gone?
The Test of a Leader
I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a
few things
about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points, not ten (I
don't want
people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses). I call them the "Nine Cs of
Leadership."
They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every
true
leader should have. We should look at how the current administration
stacks up. Like
it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we
can learn
something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the
leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the
country. It's
up to us to choose wisely.
A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the
"Yes, sir"
crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world
is a big,
complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper.
"I just
scan the headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the President
of the
United States and he never reads a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said,
"Were it
left to me to decide whether we should have a government without
newspapers, or
newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to
prefer the
latter." Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym,
with Fox News
piped through the sound system, he's ready to go.
If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas,
he grows
stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's
right? The
inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you
already
know it all, or you just don't care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush
made a
big point of saying he didn't listen to the polls. Yeah, that's what they
all say
when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70
percent of the
people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a "thumping" on
election day
to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he wasn't listening so
much as he
was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right.
A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something
different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on
never
changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid
someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbingly
messianic fervor
to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with
Bush a few
months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office
outlining
his concerns to the President, the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the
disbanded
Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. "The President was
serene," Joe
recalled. "He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and
that all
would be well. 'Mr. President,' I finally said, 'how can you be so sure
when you
don't yet know all the facts?'" Bush then reached over and put a steadying
hand on
Joe's shoulder. "My instincts," he said. "My instincts." Joe was
flabbergasted. He
told Bush,"Mr. President, your instincts aren't good enough." Joe Biden
sure didn't
think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn't.
Leadership is all
about managing change, whether you're leading a company or leading a
country. Things
change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day
they covered
that at Harvard Business School.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the
mouth or
spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the
truth. Nobody
in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore.
Instead,
they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not
really as
bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can
start to
drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the
truth,
even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand
failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when
the wolf was
at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the
casualties and
chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.
A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the
difference between
right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln
once
said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power." George Bush
has a lot
of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a
willingness to take
bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows
little regard
for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention
hundreds of
thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths. For what? To build
our oil
reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have
him killed?
To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are
questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of
character
does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.
A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for
female
leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush
comes from a
blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You
know, My
gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean
posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the
negotiating table
and talk.
If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know
it will
cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the
audience has
been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall
meetings last
year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were
all
softballs.
To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION, a fire in your belly. You've
got to
have passion. You've got to really want to get something done. How do you
measure
fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation
days
taken by a U.S. President, four hundred and counting. He'd rather clear
brush on his
ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an
interviewer
that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a
seven-and-a-half-pound
perch in his hand-stocked lake. It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress
was in
session only ninety-seven days in 2006. That's eleven days less than the
record set
in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress.
Most
people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing
to show for
it. But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now,
that's not
leadership.
A leader should have CHARISMA. I'm not talking about being flashy.
Charisma is the
quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire.
People
follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of charisma.
Maybe
George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game.
But put
him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he
doesn't
look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he
enjoys so
much don't go over that well with world leaders. Just ask German
Chancellor Angela
Merkel, who received an unwelcome shoulder massage from our President at a
G-8
Summit. When he came up behind her and started squeezing, I thought she
was going to
go right through the roof.
A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got
to know
what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround
yourself with
people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA
President.
Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first MBA
President,
we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life
support, and
we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq. And
that's just
for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest
problems we face
as a nation seem to be on the back burner.
You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE. I call this Charlie
Beacham's
rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of
my first
jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. My boss was
a guy
named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie
was a big
Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile, and a core of steel. Charlie
used to
tell me, "Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got going for you as a
human being is
your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don't know a dip of
horseshit
from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it." George Bush
doesn't have
common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know,
Mr.they'll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behind-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished
Bush. Former President Bill Clinton once said, "I grew up in an alcoholic
home. I
spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world, and I
like it
here." I think our current President should visit the real world once in a
while.
The Biggest C is Crisis Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged
in times of
crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk
theory. Or
send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield
yourself.
It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down. On
September 11,
2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history.
We needed a
steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was
reading a
story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks.
He kept
sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It's all
on tape.
You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route
back to
Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked
people of this
country, he decided it wasn't safe to return to the White House. He
basically went
into hiding for the day, and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay
put in his
bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits,
waiting for
our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody
home. It
took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo
op at
Ground Zero. That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed.
And what
did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to
Iraq, a road
his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush
didn't
listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on
being faith
based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you,I
don't know
what will.
A Hell of a Mess.
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for
winning
and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history
of the
country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great
companies
are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing,
and
nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our
borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which
way. These
are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders
gone?"
Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of
character,
courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for
alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making
us take off
our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of
dollars
building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to
things that
have already happened. Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of
Hurricane
Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to
the
hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in
the
crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed,
hoping it
doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it.
Make a
plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can
restore our
competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there
could ever be
a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did
this happen,
and more important, what are we going to do about it? Name me a government
leader
who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy
crisis, or
managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are
the crises
that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your
asses and
do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our
greatness
is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some
bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't
you guys
show some spine for a change? Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the
voice of
gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because
I have
hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of
living through
some of America's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our
worst crises,
the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Kennedy
assassination, the
Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years
culminating
with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: You don't get anywhere by
standing
on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's
building a
better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a
role to play.
That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to action for
people who,
like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty
close. So
let's shake off the horseshit and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had
enough.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Monday, April 16, 2007
Good News Everyone!
Well, I spent the weekend working on DVD's. First I took Shane Ogden's and guided it from cradle to grave. It looks pretty good. The iLife suite sure makes things a hell of a lot easier than it used to be. His DVD looks so good, you'd swear it was made by someone other than my butter fingered self.
Once his was finished, I started work on my own, and it's starting to looking pretty damn good too. The title I've chosen for this first effort is "This Hole I've Dug is Mine Forever!" and it should be ready over the next week or so. I found a cool tutorial that showed me how to do a cool DVD box cover too, so I think I'm gonna go all out with the packaging rather than just a jewel case.
It's about time I got off my lazy ass with this stuff, and I must say, I'm really excited about it. I was beginning to think I'd never get the process started. Other stuff always seemed to get in the way, but now I'm energized by it, and focused on the task at hand. Given the time table I've given myself, I should have them available for the Nelson and Cranbrook gigs.
My agent will be happy too, she's been asking me for promo for eons, and until now I just kept looking at her, and then staring at my feet like an idiot savant. (Sometimes drooling, sometimes not…)
After the release of this disc, I will be retiring the "Shovel Photo." It's time for some new promo, and I have a few ideas that are going to be pretty slick I think. It's time for a bit of a re-branding. (That just sounds wrong though, doesn't it? Re-branding, like I'm little more than a product…It's actually kinda sad when you distil it down like that.)
So that will involve a new press kit, and new pictures. (Especially a new headshot…) I love the shovel pics, but truthfully they don't really give an honest representation of what my show is all about. (They seem to imply that I'm either wacky, or that I'm some sort of psychotic grave digging zombie hunter. So far I think I can safely claim to be neither.)
Anyway… More to come later.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
I'm Pissed OFF...
I'm tired this morning. You'd swear I got no rest all weekend, but you'd be wrong. I was as lazy as lazy can be. The black circles under my eyes seem to have gotten deeper, almost sunken. I looked in the mirror this morning, and I almost didn't recognize myself.
I've also noticed that I'm quick to be agitated lately. I'm pretty sure nothing good can come from that.
Other stuff…
Over the weekend, I got lambasted on a post from about a year ago about the seal hunt. It was someone who decided to take a pot shot at me. I have never been called a slime ball or a hick before. It rocked me a little. Those who generally read my blog seem to go the other way with the stuff that I have to say. (Mind you it wasn't so much the insults that stung… Just that it seemed particularly vicious. I have never been called an agent of terror before either. Imagine that! Me… an agent of terror… I'm about as evil as a Hagar The Horrible cartoon.)
Now I'll admit, I should have been more thorough, and really check the sources I used for that post, but after being accused of "not having the facts" It made me think, did this guy read anything else I've ever written. Give the nature of his attack I don't think so.
Truth is, over the last year, I have evolved somewhat. I must admit I no longer support the hunt. I have taken a complete 180 position. Over the past year, I took the time to learn a little more about it, and have decided on my own accord that I fundamentally disagree with it. However I have also decided not to preach about it, other than to say this.
The commons will only hold so long. Then one day, if we do not take steps to re-establish it, it will disappear forever. (This can be said about a great many things.)
The only other thing I have to say is this. Peter Moss, you can suck my ass. You criticized me, and accused me of many things I consider unspeakable. You didn't get all your facts about me, and for that you Sir are a hypocrite. So… Fuck you very much you callow fuckwit.
I've also noticed that I'm quick to be agitated lately. I'm pretty sure nothing good can come from that.
Other stuff…
Over the weekend, I got lambasted on a post from about a year ago about the seal hunt. It was someone who decided to take a pot shot at me. I have never been called a slime ball or a hick before. It rocked me a little. Those who generally read my blog seem to go the other way with the stuff that I have to say. (Mind you it wasn't so much the insults that stung… Just that it seemed particularly vicious. I have never been called an agent of terror before either. Imagine that! Me… an agent of terror… I'm about as evil as a Hagar The Horrible cartoon.)
Now I'll admit, I should have been more thorough, and really check the sources I used for that post, but after being accused of "not having the facts" It made me think, did this guy read anything else I've ever written. Give the nature of his attack I don't think so.
Truth is, over the last year, I have evolved somewhat. I must admit I no longer support the hunt. I have taken a complete 180 position. Over the past year, I took the time to learn a little more about it, and have decided on my own accord that I fundamentally disagree with it. However I have also decided not to preach about it, other than to say this.
The commons will only hold so long. Then one day, if we do not take steps to re-establish it, it will disappear forever. (This can be said about a great many things.)
The only other thing I have to say is this. Peter Moss, you can suck my ass. You criticized me, and accused me of many things I consider unspeakable. You didn't get all your facts about me, and for that you Sir are a hypocrite. So… Fuck you very much you callow fuckwit.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
I can't even believe this email.
Someone sent this email to me. I found it incredibly offensive. So I decided to add my two cents.
My responses are in brackets.
PROUD TO BE WHITE... Kramer's defense speech in court
(Ok first of his name is Michael Richards. Kramer is a fictitious character. Secondly this is an email that's been circling around the internet for years. What Richards did wasn't illegal, just stupid.)
Someone finally said it. How many are actually paying
attention to this?
(What on earth do you mean by finally... Rednecks have been spouting this nonsense for decades.)
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian
Americans, Arab Americans, etc. And then there are just Americans.
(The distinction is made as a sign of respect for minorities that have been historically marginalized by whites.)
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You Call
me "White boy," "Cracker," "Honkey," "Whitey," "Caveman" ... and that's OK.
(A Canadian sent this too me. How many minorities have you met that have called you a cracker, or Honkey? In my 36 years of life it's never happened to me once. I've heard lots and lots of white people spout racist nonsense however. If I had a nickel for every time I heard the word "Nigger" or "Chug" or "Kike" said by a white person, I'd be a very very very wealthy man.)
But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger,
Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink ..You call me a racist.
(I would hope that in this civilized society of ours, that you would just naturally refrain from using racial slurs. Besides all those terms are horrific. In order to get respect, one must give it too. Reciprocity is the nature of all things.)
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so
why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?
(Hmmm... Historically Whites have been vicious towards non whites. Here's a list: 1) The Holocaust, 2) Slavery, 3) The Current war in Iraq, 4) The occupations of Nicaragua, and Panama, 5) Apartheid in South Africa, and The American south for that matter. 6) Colonialism - The occupation of India, and the majority of Africa by white european powers. We have an awful lot to answer for.
As for the ghettos. We made them. White city councils issue permits for liquor and fire arm sales. Ever wonder why there are so many liquor stores and gun shops in the hood? We make it easy for blacks to bump each other off so we don't have to.
One need only look at Katrina to see exactly what America thinks of it's African American Citizens.)
You have the United Negro College Fund. (An organization designed to help blacks who have been marginalized by expensive and traditionally white schools.)
You have Martin Luther King Day.
(What's wrong with celebrating the life of a man who believed in racial harmony and equality? HE JUST HAPPENED TO BE BLACK.)
You have Black History Month.
(Good we have 11 months of the year...)
You have Caesar Chavez Day.
(He stood up to white's treating hispanics like lesser beings.)
You have Yom Hashoah.
(What could the Jews be wanting to protect and support? Lord knows they've never had any problems with white people...Except for that crazy Holocaust, or 2000 other years of white people's hate mongering...)
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.
(Nothing bad is happening to Arabs these days?)
You have the NAACP.
(Advancement for blacks? What's wrong with that? Given that there has never been a black president of the United States, or a black Prime Minister of Canada / UK... And how many fortune 500 companies are run by blacks?)
You have BET.
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we'd be
racists.
(I believe it's call FOX NEWS! And it is racist!)
If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.
(WHY ON EARTH WOULD WE EVEN NEED IT. WE AS A CULTURE HAVE NEVER EVER BEEN MARGINALIZED! White folks run the world. We have every advantage there is. We even got to make up the rules.)
If we had White History Month , we'd be racists. (Most of the modern history we learn in school is about whites. I'd say one month out of the year is actually short changing Blacks.)
If we had any organization for only whites to "advance" OUR
lives
We'd be racists.
(Except for that first 200 years or so... Ever met a black "Knight of Columbus, or Free Mason? I bet you haven't!)
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.
Wonder who pays for that?
(Nope... And I couldn't care less...)
A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant,
but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.
(Who really cares? Pageants are dumb anyway! Just as JonBenet Ramsey!)
If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships you know we'd be racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US. Yet if there were "White colleges" THAT would be a racist college.
(At one point in America there were hundreds of Colleges that were White's only. And for a remarkable amount of time they were MEN only too. White MEN!)
In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching
for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.
(Nazi Germany did a lot of that "Million man March thing. It didn't go over well...)
You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.
(Who the fuck is orange? Most of the time it's the Aryan Nations and Ku KLUX KLAN members screaming that stuff out loud. The Nazis did that too. Another thing that didn't go to well for them...)
You rob us, car-jack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.
(White people never commit crimes? White people never shoot one another? This is utter nonsense. Given that Blacks out number whites 10 - 1 in American Prisons, and that Blacks are statistically more likely to be convicted for a crime, I'd being willing to say with some certainty that the system is racist.)
I am proud. But you call me a racist.
(I'm proud of my culture, but I don't even see colour any more.)
Why is it that only whites can be racists?
(Anyone can be racist. We just happen to be good at it.)
There is nothing improper about this e-mail. Let's see which
of you are proud enough to send it on.
(This email is a sad commentary on a world gone horribly awry. I hope there's a flood one day.)
My responses are in brackets.
PROUD TO BE WHITE... Kramer's defense speech in court
(Ok first of his name is Michael Richards. Kramer is a fictitious character. Secondly this is an email that's been circling around the internet for years. What Richards did wasn't illegal, just stupid.)
Someone finally said it. How many are actually paying
attention to this?
(What on earth do you mean by finally... Rednecks have been spouting this nonsense for decades.)
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian
Americans, Arab Americans, etc. And then there are just Americans.
(The distinction is made as a sign of respect for minorities that have been historically marginalized by whites.)
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You Call
me "White boy," "Cracker," "Honkey," "Whitey," "Caveman" ... and that's OK.
(A Canadian sent this too me. How many minorities have you met that have called you a cracker, or Honkey? In my 36 years of life it's never happened to me once. I've heard lots and lots of white people spout racist nonsense however. If I had a nickel for every time I heard the word "Nigger" or "Chug" or "Kike" said by a white person, I'd be a very very very wealthy man.)
But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger,
Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink ..You call me a racist.
(I would hope that in this civilized society of ours, that you would just naturally refrain from using racial slurs. Besides all those terms are horrific. In order to get respect, one must give it too. Reciprocity is the nature of all things.)
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so
why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?
(Hmmm... Historically Whites have been vicious towards non whites. Here's a list: 1) The Holocaust, 2) Slavery, 3) The Current war in Iraq, 4) The occupations of Nicaragua, and Panama, 5) Apartheid in South Africa, and The American south for that matter. 6) Colonialism - The occupation of India, and the majority of Africa by white european powers. We have an awful lot to answer for.
As for the ghettos. We made them. White city councils issue permits for liquor and fire arm sales. Ever wonder why there are so many liquor stores and gun shops in the hood? We make it easy for blacks to bump each other off so we don't have to.
One need only look at Katrina to see exactly what America thinks of it's African American Citizens.)
You have the United Negro College Fund. (An organization designed to help blacks who have been marginalized by expensive and traditionally white schools.)
You have Martin Luther King Day.
(What's wrong with celebrating the life of a man who believed in racial harmony and equality? HE JUST HAPPENED TO BE BLACK.)
You have Black History Month.
(Good we have 11 months of the year...)
You have Caesar Chavez Day.
(He stood up to white's treating hispanics like lesser beings.)
You have Yom Hashoah.
(What could the Jews be wanting to protect and support? Lord knows they've never had any problems with white people...Except for that crazy Holocaust, or 2000 other years of white people's hate mongering...)
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.
(Nothing bad is happening to Arabs these days?)
You have the NAACP.
(Advancement for blacks? What's wrong with that? Given that there has never been a black president of the United States, or a black Prime Minister of Canada / UK... And how many fortune 500 companies are run by blacks?)
You have BET.
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we'd be
racists.
(I believe it's call FOX NEWS! And it is racist!)
If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.
(WHY ON EARTH WOULD WE EVEN NEED IT. WE AS A CULTURE HAVE NEVER EVER BEEN MARGINALIZED! White folks run the world. We have every advantage there is. We even got to make up the rules.)
If we had White History Month , we'd be racists. (Most of the modern history we learn in school is about whites. I'd say one month out of the year is actually short changing Blacks.)
If we had any organization for only whites to "advance" OUR
lives
We'd be racists.
(Except for that first 200 years or so... Ever met a black "Knight of Columbus, or Free Mason? I bet you haven't!)
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.
Wonder who pays for that?
(Nope... And I couldn't care less...)
A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant,
but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.
(Who really cares? Pageants are dumb anyway! Just as JonBenet Ramsey!)
If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships you know we'd be racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US. Yet if there were "White colleges" THAT would be a racist college.
(At one point in America there were hundreds of Colleges that were White's only. And for a remarkable amount of time they were MEN only too. White MEN!)
In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching
for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.
(Nazi Germany did a lot of that "Million man March thing. It didn't go over well...)
You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.
(Who the fuck is orange? Most of the time it's the Aryan Nations and Ku KLUX KLAN members screaming that stuff out loud. The Nazis did that too. Another thing that didn't go to well for them...)
You rob us, car-jack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.
(White people never commit crimes? White people never shoot one another? This is utter nonsense. Given that Blacks out number whites 10 - 1 in American Prisons, and that Blacks are statistically more likely to be convicted for a crime, I'd being willing to say with some certainty that the system is racist.)
I am proud. But you call me a racist.
(I'm proud of my culture, but I don't even see colour any more.)
Why is it that only whites can be racists?
(Anyone can be racist. We just happen to be good at it.)
There is nothing improper about this e-mail. Let's see which
of you are proud enough to send it on.
(This email is a sad commentary on a world gone horribly awry. I hope there's a flood one day.)
Just a little catch up...
I have spent the last several days trying to ram engineering standards into my head. I find my self being reminded why I went to film school rather than try any technical discipline. I am a dough head. All the information I've been trying to cram in, pretty much looks like total gibberish to me. It takes a different kind of person to be able to absorb this stuff.
Clearly I was not built for this stuff. Gimme some sort of philosophical "high level" thinking and I'm right in there. Give me math and naming conventions, and you might as well put a leash on me. I would be better off spending my days trying to lick my nether regions that ever trying to learn this stuff. It's a wonder of the world that they keep me here. I am convinced at this moment that the only thing that separates me from a Neanderthal is my ability to actually spell the word Neanderthal. Other than that, I think we are both still impressed with the notion of thumbs.
Some other complaints and grievances…
The weather as you may have guessed is still driving me mad. I now believe that we will never see spring again. I shall never feel the warmth of the sun's rays on my face anymore. Curse my love of hairspray in the 80's, if only I had known that it would eventually freeze me to death. (Die Alberto V05! You cursed styling aid…What evil have you wrought?) What a hate filled irony. The world is getting warmer, and yet I'm freezing my ass off. It makes no sense to me. Bring on global cooling then you bastards.
Huge changes in the works at Yuks these days. The old guard from the agency is out, and a new Cracker Jack squad of leaders is being flown in from Toronto to take the reigns. It should be interesting to see what changes occur in the next little while. Hopefully things won't go too haywire.
Next…
This whole thing with Iran and America (and Britain too…) is really frightening to me. Apparently George Bush's understand of peace and democracy includes Armageddon. Could it be any more transparent that he has a hard on to go kick some Persian ass. Fucking up Iraq isn't enough apparently. He's like a fucking 2 year old with a bag of toys. No attention span to speak of and someone else will be left to clean up the mess when he shits the bed. Apparently no one ever told him the adage "Finish what you started before you go on to something new."
More to come as I think of it…
Clearly I was not built for this stuff. Gimme some sort of philosophical "high level" thinking and I'm right in there. Give me math and naming conventions, and you might as well put a leash on me. I would be better off spending my days trying to lick my nether regions that ever trying to learn this stuff. It's a wonder of the world that they keep me here. I am convinced at this moment that the only thing that separates me from a Neanderthal is my ability to actually spell the word Neanderthal. Other than that, I think we are both still impressed with the notion of thumbs.
Some other complaints and grievances…
The weather as you may have guessed is still driving me mad. I now believe that we will never see spring again. I shall never feel the warmth of the sun's rays on my face anymore. Curse my love of hairspray in the 80's, if only I had known that it would eventually freeze me to death. (Die Alberto V05! You cursed styling aid…What evil have you wrought?) What a hate filled irony. The world is getting warmer, and yet I'm freezing my ass off. It makes no sense to me. Bring on global cooling then you bastards.
Huge changes in the works at Yuks these days. The old guard from the agency is out, and a new Cracker Jack squad of leaders is being flown in from Toronto to take the reigns. It should be interesting to see what changes occur in the next little while. Hopefully things won't go too haywire.
Next…
This whole thing with Iran and America (and Britain too…) is really frightening to me. Apparently George Bush's understand of peace and democracy includes Armageddon. Could it be any more transparent that he has a hard on to go kick some Persian ass. Fucking up Iraq isn't enough apparently. He's like a fucking 2 year old with a bag of toys. No attention span to speak of and someone else will be left to clean up the mess when he shits the bed. Apparently no one ever told him the adage "Finish what you started before you go on to something new."
More to come as I think of it…
Yikes...
Yikes...
I had to take the Golf in for a minor repair this morning. The damn airbag sensor light came on again. I love my car, but I hate that nagging little light. Hopefully VW will get it sorted so I can once again love the car, and not worry about that bitch of a light.
The waiting room at the dealership had just a couple of people in it. One guy in a suit, an accountant to be sure, was chatty, but without being annoying. (As so many waiting room sorts can be. Especially at bus terminals or hospitals, where for some reason, you always wind up being a captive audience.) We talked about what folks generally talk about at dealerships, namely our cars.
He was a gentle sort, and projected the notion of being trustworthy. I liked him… Well as much as one can like a person based on a conversation in the lobby of a dealer while waiting for the courtesy van.
The ride in from the dealer took forever. Traffic in Calgary has become quite the grind. When we finally pulled up outside my office, I saw a guy on a bike get hit by a car. This seems like a fairly ominous start to the day. It's only 8:30 and the shit's already hit the fan for some poor bastard. Such is the working life downtown I guess.
The guy on the bike was huge and kinda scruffy looking; the Toyota that hit him was relatively small but shiny. His bike seemed to be the only real victim of this unfortunate encounter. When the huge man picked it up, you could see that the front fork was bent, and the wheel had a wicked wobble to it. He did not look amused. (I suppose though if I had been struck by a car, and my only visible means of transportation had just become an accordion, I would probably not be terribly amused either.)
I hate it when I see stuff like this. It puts me on edge all day. Happily though, it appears that he wasn't hurt.
I had to take the Golf in for a minor repair this morning. The damn airbag sensor light came on again. I love my car, but I hate that nagging little light. Hopefully VW will get it sorted so I can once again love the car, and not worry about that bitch of a light.
The waiting room at the dealership had just a couple of people in it. One guy in a suit, an accountant to be sure, was chatty, but without being annoying. (As so many waiting room sorts can be. Especially at bus terminals or hospitals, where for some reason, you always wind up being a captive audience.) We talked about what folks generally talk about at dealerships, namely our cars.
He was a gentle sort, and projected the notion of being trustworthy. I liked him… Well as much as one can like a person based on a conversation in the lobby of a dealer while waiting for the courtesy van.
The ride in from the dealer took forever. Traffic in Calgary has become quite the grind. When we finally pulled up outside my office, I saw a guy on a bike get hit by a car. This seems like a fairly ominous start to the day. It's only 8:30 and the shit's already hit the fan for some poor bastard. Such is the working life downtown I guess.
The guy on the bike was huge and kinda scruffy looking; the Toyota that hit him was relatively small but shiny. His bike seemed to be the only real victim of this unfortunate encounter. When the huge man picked it up, you could see that the front fork was bent, and the wheel had a wicked wobble to it. He did not look amused. (I suppose though if I had been struck by a car, and my only visible means of transportation had just become an accordion, I would probably not be terribly amused either.)
I hate it when I see stuff like this. It puts me on edge all day. Happily though, it appears that he wasn't hurt.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)