Another cold morning. You all didn't let that mid-week warm spell fool you, didja? How long have you lived in Chicago? The coldest months of the year are always January and February, and I think the coldest weeks are usually the last two in Jan and the first two in Feb. Get over it.
But I understand how all that cold and snow can make you a bit nuts. Yeah. It's getting to be time to think about spring. So for those of you starved for some color besides white, go here . Flower and cat pix, the weather report from Frankenoid's home in Colorado, and great instructions on starting seeds indoors. BTW, it's often instructive to read the comments to Frankenoid's posts. Lots of additional helpful gardening hints and more good pictures of green and growing things. I'm too lazy to start seeds indoors, but even thinking about doing it can warm you up a bit if you're spring-starved.
Life goes on elsewhere as well. We're one week into a new presidency and the earth has neither crumbled nor have we seen the coming of paradise--just about what one could expect. But you have to admit, it was kind of a fun week. True, lots of serious stuff happened: More people lost jobs; the Middle East is still a mess (how many millennia has this been going on now?); we were reminded by the New Guy that it's is indeed time to pull up our socks and put away childish things.
Yeah, we know. But the habit of focusing on the trivial is hard to break. I mean, there were the Big Controversy about the dresses. Pretty or not? Was the yellow one or the white one or this red one the best?
Then there were the hats. This one may have generated the most comment, but I was struck by what was going on with the guy segment of the Supreme Court. Justice Scalia, sir, what's up with the medieval burgher look?
Just curious.
And the poem. Love it or hate it? Not as good as Maya Angelou's 1993 effort.
True, but that's a tall hurdle to cross and, for my part, writing occasional poetry is a hellish enterprise at best, almost always doomed to failure, and John Donne may have been the last guy consistantly good at it anyway.
Then there was the first scandal of the new Administration. Seems like that beautiful rendition of "Air and Simple Gifts" was prerecorded. So much for "transparency," say the grinches. Would you take your Stradivarius out in zero-degree weather, ask the musicians. As a person who sometimes has trouble getting the car key in the ignition slot on a really cold day because of stiff fingers, I say, "Please, get a grip. If this is the worst scandal of the next four years, we're all going to be really grateful."
Oh, and as an aside, I watched the event on CNN and wanted to smack Wolf Blitzer a number of times, but never more than during this performance. Wolf, didn't your mother teach you not to talk while the music is playing?
The story is told in history class that during the hey-day of the Roman empire, when a victorious general came home, there would be a huge victory parade for him, with all kinds of pomp and circumstance (kind of like Tuesday, only warmer and with togas). But in the Great Man's chariot, there was a guy standing next to him (not a Secret Service agent) who was paid to whisper in his ear, "Remember, you too are mortal."
The new president may have received a high-tech version of that message over the last few days. You may be the Leader of the Free World, the Big Dog, the object of the hopes and fears of millions, but you don't necessarily get everything your own way; for example, you might not get to keep your Blackberry.
In the end, the prez won this one, sort of, and not without a fight. News is, he'll be carrying a Blackberry-like device, but don't plan on buying one just like it at the local phone shop. Here's what the new phone looks like. Actually, you can buy one, but be prepared to spend big time. And I would bet there are some bells and whistles on the presidential version--not to mention some super-secret security--that aren't mentioned on that spec sheet.
Shameless self-promotion alert! That link to the Presidential Phone picture takes you to www.controlglobal.com, the website of the magazine I work for. Walt Boyes, who posted the picture on our editorial blog, is my boss, who has an uncanny knack for sussing out bits of info like this. (Hi, boss!) Oh, and if you really care about such interesting subjects as what process manufacturing plants will look like in the future, or what it's like to be the only girl in the room during an engineering project or whether you should invest in a plant asset management system, just type my name in the site search box.
Gotta go now. More coffee later. Meanwhile, stay warm.
Comments