Wrestling with Proteus

Who knew a 6 day old little boy could be so strong? Keeping hold of his feet during changing to keep them out of the mess, pinning his arms to swaddle him effectively, prove to be Herculean if not Sisyphean tasks. I realize that I have both exceeded the over under for mythological references one is allowed to make in one month, and have mixed my mythological metaphors, but damn he's strong. Add to that attempts to throw himself from my arms with only head movements and, yeah, wrestling Proteus comes to mind.
To round out the metaphor, each day brings something new. Constant change. Weight gain, the shape of his head, new faces, finding his fingers, eyes focusing, listening to music. We will continue to wrestle for years to come, I look forward to day he reveals his true form.

Time To Awaken an Old Friend

The time has come to awaken this sleeping dog and other poorly matched cliches! Life has been an interesting ride since last we met as is evinced in part by I Went for a Walk. I have also since been married, have a 15 year old stepdaughter, and am expecting my first child in the next month or so. Lot's to think about. So gentle reader, if you will indulge my ramblings on fatherhood, marriage, and ... I don't know... hockey, I will be forever grateful. Welcome to the new and probably of equal quality Conversation with Prometheus.

Maybe a Little Premature

As much as I appreciate :
A:) Barack Obama plays for a team the remotely approaches my team
B:) The Danish poke in the eye to the Neocons

A Nobel Prize?!?! really!?!? for pretty speeches? For hoping someday to do something that might lead to peace?

The standards are getting a little light don't you think?

Hmmm? Wonder if my keeping a Red Sox and Yankees fan from killing each other puts me in the running next year?

Seriously - Carter brought Isreal and Egypt to a peace treaty that still holds after 30 years of war.

Are we that desperate?

I find it really sad that we are so hungry for a sense of connectedness that we will manufacture one by attaching ourselves artificially to a celebrity. I've got an idea - how about you go out and meet your next door neighbor! Have a beer with your coworkers!
For those who were close to Micheal Jackson I sympathize, for the rest of us - premature death is sad but let's not pretend MJ had any more than a tangential affect on our lives.

The Russians are Coming, The Russians are coming.

Was just thinking. I hope the new governor's house is close enough to see Russia! Otherwise.....

Why my Government are Awesome!

I have recently finished Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food and among other things he tells a story which warms my heart. Apparently in the early 70s the folks who brought us the Food Pyramid and the USRDA had originally reached the conclusion that we should eat very little meat and dairy and lots of fresh vegetables, but the meat and diary industry went apeshit so we now have the "western diet."

In a similar move the current congress is fighting the health "reform" bill because a public option would make insurance companies have to compete. A single payer option was blocked from the discussion by the "democratic" chairman despite the insistence of some doctors. Insurance companies will likely get a windfall of tax dollars from this legislation as we are all "mandated" to have coverage.

Why do these things make me happy? I'll tell you. I am a Hashshishin and business has taken a real hit do to the end of some wars and the new "diplomacy" craze. (Let's hope that's a fad. Can anybody say Pet Rock?) I'm confident the same wiser heads will prevail in my case and realize that hatred and aggression is a serious profit driver. Peace may be good for the masses, but there is an ancient and lucrative industry that is seriously at risk if peace and negotiation is allowed to run unchecked. I am glad I live in a country where commercial interests are given their proper place - trumping nonsense like science, or public well-being, or what is best, or what is right.

Once in a....well Ever...day!

So in my last post I put the damper on the expectation train for myself. Now I want to celebrate the extraordinary thing that has happened.

I am prouder today than I have ever been of America. America the idea and America the people.

Today we emerge from a long dark and dangerous era into the sunrise of hope renewed. I don't know if we really will ever understand how close we came to fascism. Obama may not be everything I would like in a Democrat, but he signifies both in his person and his ideology, the repudiation of force as right, of monolithic thinking, of with us or against us, of the framing documents of our country as guidelines and not law.

The American people, or at least a majority of them, have come to their senses. The fact that he does not look like any other president is for my money just a bonus.