Netflix Review

Recently, I got a Netflix subscription. Some people that I knew had it, and told me that you can stream movies online for $7.99 a month. It took me a while, probably longer than it should have, to see any real benefits in this. But that began to change recently. Figured eight dollars a month really was not all that much after all, and so, I went ahead.

There was another option, as there always is. I could dish out eight more dollars a month, and get DVD's sent to my home to be watched. Just like traditional rentals, only these get mailed to your home, and you have to return them by mail, as well. For whatever reason, this did not particularly appeal to me. It might, someday. But it did not then, and still does not. At least not yet. Perhaps once I have exhausted watching all that is available of real interest to me streaming movies and shows online via Netflix, then I will go ahead with the renting of DVD's option. That's not likely to happen for quite some time, though.

But to start with, I was going to stick with the online streaming.

The thing is, I was actually a bit underwhelmed by the movies that were available here, at least at first. There really are not nearly as many as I had hoped for.

I checked, perhaps naturally, for some personal favorites. Star Wars. Nope. Indiana Jones. Nope. I actually own these movies on DVD, but lent them and have not gotten them back, and it has not been the greater part of the year. There are another couple of DVD's that I seem to have misplaced, and have wanted to see the movies again. Specifically, Into the Wild, and Mothernight.

But none of these titles were available here. There was that feeling of high expectations dashed...at least initially.

That said, it must be remembered that it is all of eight bucks a month, and while some of the more obvious movies are not available, Netflix still has a lot to offer. You just have to give it a chance.

Perhaps, your expectations need to be revised a bit, if you enter into it the way that I did. The truth of the matter is that there are things to watch here. Good things. And, once you go ahead and explore a bit, you will probably find something to interest you. Probably, you'll find a few things.

There are movies available here, and a decent selection of them. I had perused briefly, the first day or two, and was surprised perhaps by the movies that were not on here. Admittedly, perhaps, I am a part of a spoiled society with a sense of entitlement. So, I expected the best range of movies that could be downloaded, and when that did not happen, my reaction was disappointment.

But if you explore a bit, and allow yourself the opportunity to peruse, there are some very interesting things here. Once my expectations were lowered (and they were, I'll be honest), I began to look at what is available. There were foreign movies that looked actually quite enticing, and I could watch them instantly, without further charges then the 8 bucks a month. There has always been a certain appeal for me in watching movies from other countries. They offer a bit of a glimpse into that society, as well as stories and movies that simply are not usually readily available to American audiences in particular. So, that appealed to me.

The movies are split up into different genres (of which, there are quite a few), and you can explore in that way. You can, of course, look up titles, and see if the movies that you are interested in are available. Some of the movies I looked up are, such as The Adventures of Tintin (a movie that I reviewed on this blog after having seen it in the movie theaters with my son). Give it half a chance, and I'll bet there is something that is of interest to you. Perhaps it is a movie or a television series that you wanted to see or were interested in, but never got around to it. There are television series that I wanted to watch more of, but was reluctant to dish out quite a chunk of change to buy, and it did not seem worth it to rent simply to obtain copies of them briefly.

I have a seven year old son, for example, and there are tons of programs that he would be interested in. It could serve as a tremendous benefit to him in that respect, hopefully. He has already put it to good use. I can see what my account history shows has been downloaded, and there are tons of Sponge Bob episodes, as well as Marvel cartoon episodes, especially Spiderman. So, it has been quite beneficial to him.

It has also been beneficial to me. There was one television series in particular that was of great interest to me. it was Mad Men. I will try to write a review on the first season very soon on this blog, but have to finish up the entire first season before I do this. Almost there, but not quite. I had seen much of the first season before, and was drawn to it. In fact, I had been flirting for quite some time with buying them online, because despite knowing a lot of people who owned television series on DVD (whole seasons and, in some cases, whole series), no one that I know of owned these.

These were available here, as were many other television programs that I may, or may not, give a chance to. Who knows? But there are some that I am sure I will be watching. Mad Men, of course, I am already watching. And although I did not find any of the Indiana Jones movies here, I did find a television series form the early nineties, The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, that I have wanted to see now for some years but, again, was reluctant to commit a lot of money to. Now, I can check these out on my own time, which I intend to do. Plus, there is another movie related to Indiana Jones, about the fan mania, as I understand it, which I hope to check out, as well.

If you judge it by what is not available, you will likely find enough reasons to convince yourself not to go ahead with it and try it. But if you keep an open mind, particularly if you have a wide array on interests and are willing to experiment, then this could prove to be a good deal.

So, all in all, I have been pretty satisfied. It is easy and convenient, and pretty cheap to boot. Don't expect the world of movies at your feet, or anything. But if you are willing to give it a chance, you very well might find that it seems worth it - especially if you enjoy certain television series. If you think you might be interested, I'll say this - that despite my initial skepticism, it definitely seems worthwhile now, and I am glad to have gotten an account!

Around the Bend December 26, 2012

Well, first & foremost, I just wanted to wish everyone a hapy holiday season. Hope that you got to enjoy your Christmas with friends and family, if you celebrated it. If you live in a country that celebrates it, here's hoping that you are enjoying your Boxer Day, as well! We're closing in on 2013, and so this may be the last Around the Bend for this year, alhough maybe not. Usually, I like doing these on Mondays, but this Monday was a bit different. So, here it is. A bit late, but otherwise ready to go. Enjoy! And again, here's wishing the best to you & yours this holiday season!

Sandy Hook Shootings

Investigators continue to search for the motive that Adam Lanza might have had in committing the murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School, but they remain stumped, seemingly. He seemed to have left virtually no clues as to what was going on inside of his disturbed mind.


The Fiscal Cliff

Despite President Obama already having rejected Boehner and the Republicans "Plan B" of raising taxes on those who make $1 million or more, House Republicans decided to reject the measure before it ever reached the floor to be voted on. Washington lawmakers will return and go back to work today, with less than a week left before we reach the fiscal cliff.


Romney Never Wanted to Run

According to Mitt Romney's son, Tagg Romney, his father had "no desire to run" for the office of President, although he ran more than once, and seemed to have committed the greater part of the last decade, or possibly more, in pursuit of that office that he did not want, evidently. "He wanted to be President less than anyone I've met in my life," Tagg went on to say.

Funny, because most people who don't want to be President don't run. That makes it sound like he was called upon to run, and despite not wanting to, decided to go ahead and run (twice), and wage a fierce campaign (twice), enduring all sorts of personal and professional attacks, because some mysterious others felt he was absolutely the best man. In other words, it is a major compliment, because he really wanted no part of the Presidency that he ultimately did not get anyway, but out of some noble sense of obligation from a huge show of support from as yet unidentified people who demanded that he make a run for the highest office in the land, he decided to do so (twice). And so, if we follow this logic, Romney ran, but reluctantly, although he himself said in his concession speech that he would have dearly loved to be the President.

Strange. I have no desire to hear from anyone in the political sphere with the last name of "Bush", but I have to tell you, that feeling is starting to grow for anyone named "Romney" as well. You can't trust anyone with those kinds of names, right now.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/mitt-romney-no-desire-president-tagg-says-191236665--election.html



George H. W. Bush Hospitalized

Former President George H. W. Bush, a President himself, and father of President George W. Bush, spent his Christmas in a hospital, as his health has been questionable as of late.




Movie Star Ben Affleck Considering a Run for Senate?

It seemed plausible enough. Ben Affleck was considered a serious candidate to fill the soon to be vacated Senate seat of John F. Kerry, who will be leaving it in order to fill the obligations of his new role as Secretary of State for the second Obama presidential term. But after rumors persisted and he kept being  asked specifically about it, Affleck has this to say on his Facebook page: "I love Massachusetts and our political process, but I am not running for office."


http://news.yahoo.com/ben-affleck-wont-running-senate-185449033--abc-news-politics.html




Around the World



Middle East

Israel - Despite condemnation from the EU, Israel announced that it would go ahead with development in the West Bank, in what the EU, and much of the rest of the world, views as Palestinian lands.
Israel - Hamas has forbidden local journalists from working with the Israeli media, declaring it "hostile".

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/12/26/3115441/hamas-forbids-local-journalists-from-working-with-israeli-media

Egypt - President Morsi has declared that the new constitution (which critics claim he rushed through) sets up  new republic. He has backed away of late from some of the sweeping powers that he had formerly seemed to grant himself, after massive protests. He has called on opposition groups to join in the dialogue and begin to get the country past the explosive divisions that have rocked the nation in recent years.

Syria - President Assad sent an envoy to Moscow in hopes of ending the conflict in his nation, which has threatened his long rule there.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1226/Assad-sends-envoy-to-Moscow-for-talks-on-ending-Syria-s-conflict




Europe

Russia - Despite a huge degree of condemnetation and criticism the world over, the Russian parliament made a move towards banning Americans from adopting Russian children.

http://news.yahoo.com/russian-parliament-endorses-anti-us-adoption-bill-110523337.html

Italy - Italian Premiere Mario Monti has declined an offer by former Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi, who wanted ro run for Italy's top spot again, and wanted Monti to join him on a center-right ticket. He was turned off by Berlusconi's waffling. Berlusconi was often very critical of the government led by Monti, particularly of his economic policies. Yet, at other times, Berlusconi would praise the same government. It was this inconsistency that greatly contributed to Monti rejecting the offer, and saying that, in the end, "I couldn't accept his offer."

http://news.yahoo.com/italys-monti-turns-down-berlusconi-offer-run-111315555.html




Latin America & Caribbean
Venezuela - Amidst concerns about the health of President Chavez, who has been diagnosed with cancer, Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced on Christmas Eve that Chavez is up and walking around, although many remain skeptical of such glowing reports of the President's health. In the meantime, the nation's Supreme Court is deciding on whether or not it is constitutional to postpone the swearing in ceremonies of President Chavez, due to his health.

http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-court-could-decide-chavez-swearing-234326529.html



Asia
Japan - Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has declared that fixing the nation's ailing economy is the top priority on his agenda.

China - 70 of the nation's leading scholars have pushed the new Communist regime here in China for some modest reforms that included, but was not limited to, separating the party from government. They fell short of requesting an end to one party rule, however. They also requested greater freedom of speech, more free enterprise, and an independent judicial system.

http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-scholars-push-mild-political-reform-092942854.html

Philippines - Fires in the nation's capital of Manila have left eight dead and set off chaos in the capital city, as a riot has broken out.

http://news.yahoo.com/8-dead-christmas-day-fires-riot-philippines-052614842.html

India - Police have lifted barricades in New Delhi, as anti-rape protests have eased a bit there.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/26/world/asia/india-rapes/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

South Korea - The nation will get it's first woman President soon. Park Geun-hye has made history, and shw has vowed to "take care of our people one-by-one." She wants to lift much of the nation out of poverty that remains common throughout.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/19/world/asia/south-korea-presidential-result/index.html?hpt=wo_bn4

Africa
South Africa - The world continues to watch the condition of Nelson Mandela, iconic leader of South Africa, in more ways than one. This is a man who committed his life to trying to help resolve the extreme racial tensions prevalent throughout the country, and which always threatened to plunge the nation into some racial war and chaos. Yet, it is Mandela's level-headed leadership and foresight which is often credited with averting what had seemed like South Africa's inevitable destiny, and was seen as the impetus for what was (and still largely is) considered a success story, from a dictatorial, racial state, to a democratic "rainbow nation' with "one man, one vote".

But Mandela, who is 94-years old, appears to be ailing, and on the verge of death, possibly. Many in South Africa are nervous to see what that might mean for the country, and many others are saddened by the possibility that Mandela could die. Still, others are accepting, and figure that if he must go, then he must go. We all end up there in the end.

Mandela has spent significant time in a hospital in Pretoria, and was diagnosed with having a lung infection. He spent his Christmas there.

On top of the sadness and concern that many feel watching Mandela's deteriorating health, there is a debate raging in South Africa now about a patient's right to privacy versus the public's right to know, and the media's role in all of this.

Breaking - It was just reported as I wrote this that Nelson Mandela has been deemed fit for release from the hospital.


http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-world-watches-mandelas-struggle-160632980.html


Central African Republic - The government here has requested assistance from France in order to hold off rebels advancing on the nation's capital. France has troops stationed in the nation, and the nation used to be a colony of France. Paris did not immediately respond.

http://news.yahoo.com/anti-rebel-protestors-attack-french-embassy-central-african-143503013.html

Nigeria - A warehouse that produced fireworks exploded in Nigeria's capital and largest city of Lagos  earlier today, killing one person. It also set off a fire that is threatening surrounding neighborhoods, and sent up a plume of smoke that can be seen for miles.


The United Nations 


Sports


NBA


After a hot start to the season as an introduction to their new home, the Brooklyn Nets have cooled off considerably. They lost seven of their last ten games, and following a hot start, the team just barely enjoys a winning record following another loss, this time to their division rivals, the Boston Celtics. The Celtics also have a 14-13 record after soundly defeating the Brooklyn Nets, 93-76, on Christmas day.

In the meantime, after a dismal start, the Lakers are beginning to put things together, and are looking more and more like a contender (unfortunately).


Soccer/Football

Former coach of the French National Team, Raymond Domenich, has claimed that the coaching spot for the American national team would be a dream job, following Jurgen Klinsmann's departure from the role. "There's a job I'd rather have!' declared Domenich. He cited an easy schedule against teams that he viewed as weak  He elaborated on just how easy the schedule tends to be for the American team, and that is why they "always" qualify.

It seems to me that Domenech has fallen prey to a certain overconfidence, and that if he ever was to become the American coach (a move that would probably not be in the interests of the American national team), the team might suffer. Instead of approaching every game as a test, he seems instead to overlook not just one or two, but almost all of his opponents, which itself seems to be a recipe for disaster. No wonder why the French national team, which had gone as far as the 2006 World Cup Final (and barely lost to eventual champion Italy in the shootout) fell by the wayside in 2010, and became the joke of those games in South Africa. He hardly seems like the strongest candidate for the job, and his arrogant and dismissive remarks suggest other weaknesses in his approach to the game, in general. I don't believe it would be in the best interests of the U. S. National team to even consider Domenich as an outside candidate for the position, let alone as a serious contender.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/former-france-coach-raymond-domenech-235400002--sow.html

France - Ligue 1

French Ligue 1 Standings

Here are the current standings for Ligue 1 in France following this past weekend. PSG, Lyon, and Marseilles are in a three-w ay tie for first, although they all got there through very different routes.

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/ligue-1/

FBFR

Place	Team	Games Played	Wins	Draws	Losses	Points	Goals For	Goals Against
1	Paris Saint-Germain	19	11	5	3	38	36	12
2	Lyon	19	11	5	3	38	33	17
3	Marseille	19	12	2	5	38	24	20
4	Rennes	19	10	2	7	32	29	24
5	Lorient	19	8	7	4	31	32	29
6	Valenciennes	19	8	5	6	29	31	24
7	Bordeaux	19	6	11	2	29	21	14
8	Lille	19	7	8	4	29	24	18
9	Nice	19	7	8	4	29	26	26
10	St. Etienne	19	7	6	6	27	24	14
11	Montpellier	19	7	5	7	26	29	24
12	Toulouse	19	7	5	7	26	25	20
13	Bastia	19	6	4	9	22	26	41
14	Brest	19	6	3	10	21	20	28
15	Reims	19	4	7	8	19	16	20
16	AC Ajaccio	19	5	6	8	19	21	29
17	Evian	19	5	4	10	19	22	32
18	Sochaux	19	4	4	11	16	17	29
19	Troyes	19	2	7	10	13	20	37
20	AS Nancy-Lorraine	19	1	8	10	11	15	33

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!

Christmas is different when you're an adult. I don't know why, exactly. Can't put my finger on it. It just is. Just like everything is different when you reach adulthood.

Childhood is, of course, usually a happier time. Perhaps it's because everything is still so new, the world seems full of mystery and possibilities.

My Christmas experiences of late have not varied all that greatly - at least, that is, in relation to the actual holiday season. Circumstances might change, of course, but that has nothing to do with Christmas season itself. It's just a coincidence that circumstances may present themselves around the holidays. But the holiday season itself, the ritual of the holidays that we all seem to partake in? Well, that pretty much remains the same from year to year, doesn't it?

There are advertisements, of course. Usually they begin before Thanksgiving, but most try to be a little more subtle. Not always, though. When I was younger, I worked in a retail store and, I swear this is the truth, they started putting up Christmas stuff in August! I couldn't believe it. It was in the middle of a heat wave, probably closing in on 100 degrees outside, and yet inside, there were images of Santa Claus and reindeer and snow. It was utterly ridiculous.

Anyway, all of those advertisements that have become such a holiday tradition are trying to get you to participate in another holiday tradition - shopping. Some of us are not at all fazed by that. Others? Well, it can be quite daunting. Especially the idea of getting the right gift for people, especially when some people seem impossible to shop for. My mom is like that. I never know what to get her. Trying to come up with a gift idea can be hard. I always admired my brother's creativity with gift giving. He seems to always come up with some good ideas.

Then, there are also other factors to consider. How much should you spend on this person, or on that? What shows creativity, and that you put some thought into a gift?

That's not it, of course. There's decorating. Putting the tree up. Once the actual holiday gets closer, you have to make plans, and that usually means spending time with family for most people. That in and of itself can be quite stressful.

No wonder some people approach the holiday with trepidation, and view it as a stressful time. Quite understandable.

I experienced some of that trademark holiday stress myself yesterday. Much like most years, I got off to an early start with my Christmas shopping. Much like most years as well, I let a lot of time elapse before I really took holiday shopping seriously again - all the way to Christmas Eve in this case, which is actually rare for me. Perhaps I get overconfident with the early good start, and neglect following through. But it always seems like I should have far more time to figure these things out than there actually ends up being. You might think I'd get used to the time racing by now, in my thirty-eight years. Apparently, you'd be wrong.

Shopping on Christmas Eve is one of the best ways to see for yourself why so many people can feel stressed out during the holiday season. Traffic everywhere, people rushing form place to place, doing their best to get last minute gifts, and the crowded stores go from unusually extended hours, to closing very early. You might even end up cursing your own stupidity for not getting an earlier start in the day, such as I found myself doing yesterday.

Still, there can be magical moments. Little things that take on a life of their own, and remind you of that old magic that you once felt way back when you were the child, and adults would ask you what you would want. Back then, Christmas probably mostly meant the gifts that you would get, and I don't think I need to tell anyone that kids can wonder about those gifts endlessly, imagining just how wonderful it will be when they get all of those really cool toys that they seem to expect.

My brother wanted to bring my son and I along, to pick up a present for my son - a new bike. We went to Toys 'R Us, which my son feels is like a magic kingdom. He pointed out a train set that he really seemed to like, but we passed by that quickly, and he forgot about it equally quickly, it seemed. He wanted to visit the entire store, but I tried to get him to focus on the bikes.

When we finally got to the bike section, he almost seemed disappointed. But it did not take long for him to get excited about the idea. Once he had one picked out, he seemed to fall in love with it. He rode around in circles inside of the store, and wanted to ride it up to the cash register (we couldn't  allow him to do that), and then to ride the bike out the store, and a bit in the parking lot (which we did allow him to do).

He seemed so happy, so completely absorbed by the magic of getting that new bicycle, that everything else disappeared. When was the last time you felt that way about anything? I try to remember, but can't, really. It's been so long, and adulthood kind of takes that away from you.

But seeing a happy child like my son yesterday? That can be the quickest, and best, reminder. Seeing him suddenly so happy is truly something special.

For quite some time now, he's been talking about Santa, and all the gifts that he's going to bring. He has been waiting with anticipation for all those gifts that he expects under the Christmas tree, and has been sure to drop plenty of hints about what things he might like.

We enjoyed some time as a family together last night after the holiday shopping, just as the snow began to fall.

A White Christmas (well, Christmas Eve, technically, but some of the white stuff should last thought to today, right?). Imagine that!

The driving was treacherous, trying to navigate the inclimate roads with a lot of people on the road. That's never pleasant. But I got him there, and made sure he went to bed relatively early, because he understands that Santa was waiting for him, and all good children, to go to sleep well before midnight, before he would feel comfortable stopping by to drop off his presents.

The snow was actually quite pleasant. I had to go off to work, and the road conditions slowed things down, truth be told. But once I got to the highways, the roads were fairly clear, mostly just wet. So, I was able to forget just how stressful that can make traveling during this time of the year, and just thought about how nice it was to be blessed with a White Christmas!

At this moment, I would also like to say just how blessed I feel right now. It is not a Merry Christmas all over the world. There is a lot of suffering, a lot of heartbreak all around the world. Just imagine what Christmas must look like in Newtown right now. So, this is a time to spend with loved ones, and to appreciate those loved ones in your life. My own Christmas day will be split in two, as I will have Christmas lunch in the early afternoon with my family (including my beautiful son), and then spending the evening at friends of my girlfriend, at a place that I had a later Thanksgiving dinner just a few weeks ago. So, I will spend time with loved ones, and try not to lose sight (as it is so easy to do) of just how much I have been blessed with and to be appreciative of on this holiday.

NFL Playoff Race Heating Up

The playoffs are getting very close, and as always happens at this time of the year, teams are fighting for position, and even for their playoff lives. There were a lot of showdowns this week with enormous playoff implications, and perhaps no single game meant more to both teams than the division rivalry game between the Steelers and Bengals.

Cincinnati managed to pull off a big victory in the steel city, as Big Ben Roethlisberger threw a costly interception at a very inopportune time. It was a decision that people will be second guessing for a long, long time. Deep in their own territory, he threw an interception with very little time remaining in a tied game, handing the Bengals a golden opportunity to steal a win and clinch a playoff berth. An early Christmas gift, and Cincinnati obliged with a field goal to secure the win. It marks only the second time in franchise history that the Bengals qualified for the playoffs in consecutive seasons, and the first time that they have managed the feat in thirty years.

All six teams in the AFC are known, but otherwise, there is still a lot of uncertainty about positioning. The Houston Texans, who seemed to virtually own the top spot in the AFC all season, have been shaky suddenly these last few weeks. They lost today, to the Minnesota Vikings, in a game that had playoff ramifications for both conferences, and just like that, they are tied with the Denver Broncos at 12-3, with one weekend to go. For Houston to clinch the top seed, it is simple: all they have to do is win. But they will be at Indianapolis, and victory if far from certain. In the meantime, the Broncos are hosting the Kansas City Chiefs, one of the worst teams in the league. Not only that, but if Houston loses, and if the New England Patriots win at home against Miami, the Texans could find themselves dropped all the way down to the number 3 seed. That would be a considerable fall for a team that seemed to enjoy virtual impunity from any serious challenges to their top notch status in the AFC. The Colts want to secure the number 5 seed that currently is theirs, which will likely earn them a date with the Ravens, although Baltimore could become the third seed with a win and a New England loss next weekend. Baltimore will go to Cincinnati, who also would like to win to see if they could steal the number 5 seed from the Colts, provided they lose to the Texans.

Whew! That's a lot of potential scenarios, isn't it?

Yet, it's nowhere near as complicated as the NFC, where only four teams have clinched playoff spots. The Seattle Seahawks became that fourth team yesterday night, with a huge, blowout win over the 49ers, 42-13. San Francisco had been trying to wrap up the NFC West. Instead, they now will have to win next week against Arizona, or hope the Seattle Seahawks will lose when they host the Rams. The 49ers also lost their position as the number 2 seed in the NFC with the loss, as red hot Green Bay moved ahead with a better record. But the Packers play at Minnesota, and both teams have a lot riding on that game. So, nothing is a gimme at this point. No one in either conference has locked in their playoff position, except for the Atlanta Falcons, who clinched the top spot with a win at Detroit on Saturday.

Chicago also remained alive at Arizona to keep their flickering hopes for the playoffs alive. But they would need the Vikings to lose, and would also need to win at Detroit.

In the NFC East, the situation remains cloudy, as well. The red hot Redskins won at Philadelphia, pushing their record to 9-6, and placing them alone atop the NFC East for the first time. It helped a bit, perhaps, that the Dallas Cowboys also lost in overtime to the New Orleans Saints, but only a little bit, really, since those two teams will meet next weekend at Washington, in a winner take all game. Whoever wins clinches the division, and whoever loses will likely go home.

So, Dallas's loss really only helped Washington out a little, given the big, upcoming showdown with Dallas. What helped both the Redskins and Cowboys out a lot was the loss by the team that Dallas lost last year's big NFC East showdown season finale to last year: the New York Giants. The G-Men's loss to Baltimore, who clinched the AFC North with the win, put the Giants in a very precarious position. They still have playoff hopes, but they are slim to none. They would need first of all to win when they host the Eagles, and then need Dallas to lose, as well as Chicago and Minnesota. That's a pretty tall order, and it may, or may not, be realistic. One way or the other, the Giants squandered many opportunities in the last two weeks. They went from controlling their own destiny for the division, to now being on the outside, looking in at the playoff picture.

I think the Giants, who are and long have been my favorite team, must be the weirdest football team in history. Here is a team that looked like world beaters not once, but twice in recent playoff runs that saw them being crowned as champions at the end of each. They went 10-6 in 2007, but it was a loss to the undefeated New England Patriots in the season finale that actually triggered their championship run, where they won on the road at Tampa Bay, then Dallas, and then Green Bay to qualify for the Super Bowl, where they pulled off one of the biggest and most memorable upsets in sports history in beating the undefeated Patriots, who were enjoying a dream season, and had many believing that they were the greatest team in NFL history. Then last season, the Giants looked compromised at 7-7, only to enjoy another historical run. I believe they became the first team in NFL history to play what amounted to six consecutive playoff games, where they faced elimination games for both teams for six games in a row. First, they eliminated the Jets, for all intents and purposes, "on the road" at the Jets. Then, they dominated Dallas in a huge, winner take all showdown for the NFC East title. That earned them a home game in the Wild Card, where they knocked off Atlanta. Then, they took on the 15-1 defending champion Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, who at one point were seriously flirting with an undefeated season themselves, and absolutely dominated them. That got them to the NFC Championship at San Francisco, where they edged the 49ers in overtime, and finally, the Super Bowl, where they once again held off the Patriots, 21-17, for their second Super Bowl title in five seasons.

Also, those same Giants started off the 2008 season looking like they were destined to repeat, racing out to an 11-1 start, and seeming Yet, that same team dropped fur of their last five games, including their first playoff game against Philadelphia. Then, the next season, they dropped to 8-8, in a strange, up and down season. They started off looking like one of the elite teams, with a 5-0 record. But they got completely dismantled by the Saints in a battle of unbeatens, and from that point onwards, their season spiraled out of control. The next year was yet another up and down season, but finished up with a decent 10-6 record. Yet, that was not good enough for the playoffs, and they missed out for a second consecutive season.

There are times when the Giants still show glimpses of greatness. This season, they will have beaten three playoff teams. They beat both Dallas and Washington, so whoever clinches the division, the Giants will have won at least a game against. They also completely dominated the Packers and he 49ers earlier this season, and the 49ers was at San Francisco - the only home loss for the 49ers so far this season! Just two weekends ago, they scored 52 points, the most since the 1986 season - twenty six years ago! But after such offensive production one weekend, they turn around and get shut out at Atlanta - a team not exactly known for defense. Not only did they lay an egg in that 34-0 embarrassment, but it was probably the most lopsided defeat of any defending Super Bowl champion in history (I think - and it certainly has to rank up there, at least). They follow that up with an embarrassment at Baltimore this weekend. Both games were must wins. They also got blown out at Cincinnati last month. This season alone, they showed signs of why they are the defending champions, and almost seemed ready to make another run at the title at midseason, when they stood at 6-2, with a comfortable lead in the division. Yet, here they are, having lost five of their last seven games, and still they have an outside chance at the playoffs! I love them, but what a weird team!

Speaking of weird teams, how about those Jets? I've seen teams struggle with quarterback controversies before. The Giants had a big one back in the early nineties, when they became the first ever team to have two Super Bowl winning quarterbacks on their roster, with Simms and Hostetler. At that same time, there was also a quarterback controversy brewing in San Francisco, between legendary quarterback Joe Montana and Steve Young. More recently, there was the quarterback controversy in Chicago between Orton and Grossman that ended once the Bears acquired Cutler. In Cleveland, there was a quarterback controversy between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson. Those are the main controversies that I can think of, at least off the top of my head, anyway. Probably, there are quite a few more that I am forgetting about.

But the Jets are taking quarterback controversy to a new level. Some years ago, they acquired stud quarterback Mark Sanchez, and for the first two seasons, during which time they enjoyed some considerable success, with two AFC Championship Game appearances in a row. Being sixty minutes away from the Super Bowl had the team and their fans dreaming of glory. But that glory never materialized, despite the coach making bold predictions about it. So, during the offseason, the Jets made more headlines than their crosstown rival, and Super Bowl champion, New York Giants. Particularly,  their move in acquiring Tim Tebow made a lot of noise and was cause for a lot of headlines.  Tebow had, of course, led the Broncos to the division title last season, and even won a playoff game for them against Pittsburgh, throwing the game winning touchdown pass in overtime. People wondered what the Jets were doing, bringing him in.

They are still wondering, especially since both Sanchez and Tebow appear on their way out. I have heard talk that Tebow is heading to Jacksonville, while Sanchez might be a good fit as Rodger's backup in Green Bay. It took a long time, but the Jets finally did what every Jets fan seems to have been clamoring for - to give someone else a shot. In this case, McElroy. But McElroy had a very hard first NFL start yesterday, as the Chargers sacked him 11 times! The Jets seemed comfortably in charge going into the half, but they imploded once again in the second half, and inexplicably lost a home game to the Chargers, who really are not that good themselves. The Jets had already been eliminated from the playoff picture last weekend, in losing to the Titans- who got crushed by the Packers, 55-7, by the way.  I wonder what's with all of these huge, record style blowouts of late, anyway?

Of course, the Jets have always been a weird team. They are the type of team that fans might be tempted to believe are cursed. Sometimes, they show really glimpses of promise. But other times, like yesterday, they completely fall flat on their face. This season, to be sure, they have consistently fallen flat on their face, with embarrassing losses, particularly at home, for whatever reason (perhaps pressure from home fans?). But the 44 year drought of championships for the green and white is still very much intact, and counting. Hugely disappointing season for them, but it will mercifully come to an end next weekend. Can't help but wonder what the offseason will look like for them.

Otherwise, in the few games with zero playoff implications, the Carolina Panthers got past the Raiders. while St. Louis handed Tampa Bay their fifth straight defeat. Finally, the Dolphins beat the Bills in Miami.

Should be an interesting and wild weekend of football coming up!

My Christmas Story

I originally wrote this blog a couple of years ago, way back in 2010, during what were the earliest days of this blog site.

It just seemed like it might be nice to repost it here and now. It has been a bit heavy in the news lately, and although I tried a bit of levity a couple of days ago, sharing some pictures I had taken of my son and I celebrating a makeshift belated Halloween (because it was cancelled in our area due to Hurricane Sandy), I wrote the very next day about the NRA press conference in response to the shootings at Newtown.

So, here is yet another attempt to try and be a little more cheerful, and to get myself into the holiday spirit. It always seems to rush up on me with little to no warning, and this year has been no different. Perhaps, in fact, Hurricane Sandy itself seemed to speed things up a bit. It landed and did all of that damage just days before Halloween, and threw everything into disarray for a good couple of weeks or so.

By the time things returned to normal (relatively), Halloween was long past, and Thanksgiving was a few days away. Life began to return a bit back to normal, and suddenly, the sales for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, were making headlines once again. It was that time of the year - Christmas shopping. Long lines and extended hours.

Naturally, I did not get all of my Christmas shopping done. Nowhere near, in fact, and I'm a bit worried now, because I work pretty much all day today. Well I get off of work in about an hour and a half (it's 6:30am right now), then start work again at 4pm, allowing me to get a bit of a rest, but not allowing for any real holiday shopping. Plus, I did not wrap the presents that I did get for people.

Yes, once again, I'm batting a thousand. But I guess there's still time, and I intend to make use of it (hopefully).

That said, I would like to get into the right spirit. This can be a happy time of the year, and I have a lot to feel blessed for. So, with that in mind, here is the Brady Street Story, which some of my friends really seem to enjoy hearing. It is almost my own, personal holiday tradition, at least for now - although I would like to make more. But this story, I think, is nice, and should lighten things up and get me back in the holiday spirit.

Hope you enjoy!



The Brady Street Story

There are a lot of things during this time of the year that can serve to be reminders, pleasant or otherwise, about the holiday season. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, I know, and this story is mostly about a specific Christmas tradition that I fondly recall. But is also simply a pleasant memory that I thought would be nice to share, and which shows at least a good and friendly sentiment.

The holiday season changes as we change. It can often seem only positive as a child, but as you get older, the undisputed positive feelings can sometimes begin to fade away by the overcommecialization and false sentiments that prevent us from remembering what the true meaning of Christmas is supposed to be. At once, it can be a time of great joy, as well as great stress. The delight of seeing family members can also be tempered by the anxiety this can provide, and induce heavy drinking. The pleasure provided by the excitement of an impatient child could be quickly erased when that child tears the beautiful gift wrapping you so carefully chose and loses interest, moving onto the next colorful box, hoping to get the one really desired toy that will provide ever lasting happiness (or for a few days, anyway).

We were not a rich family by any means, but I can remember the richness of own holiday traditions, and the simple joy and even thrills that these provided during the build up, at once extremely pleasurable and excruciating, for those Christmas mornings, particularly when we would spend it, as we often seemed to, at my Grandparent's place. Not interested back then in what almost all adults, myself certainly included, seems interested in doing now on such a morning - namely sleeping in - I would wake up at the first trace of light in the eastern horizon, and my impatient legs would kick off the blankets and land onto my bedroom floor with a thud (admittedly as loudly as possible in the hopes of waking everyone up). I would open the door and run down the creaky stairs (again, in the hopes of waking everyone up) to the downstairs area, where the site of the Christmas tree, looking almost mystical with the dulled glory of Christmas morning with all of those shiny ornaments and tinsel and wrapping paper of the beautiful and enticing gifts spread out like buried treasure awaiting discovery, at the foot of the tree.

These memories are wonderful, and I guess at the time, a part of me understood all of that, too, even if what I was doing, in effect, was prolonging the agony of a child's interminable wait, that seemingly endless countdown that came a week before the official countdown of a new year. The excitement would slowly build, as one hint after another would clue you in on the upcoming Christmas holiday. The warmth of early autumn and the brilliance of the changing of the colors would give way to the stark, brown branches, shedding their leaves and facing the winter with the dull brownish tint that seems to just go with the colorlessness of the winter landscape. The Christmas decorations begin to go up sometime in November, especially after Thanksgiving, and the excitement builds further still. When your parents take you shopping and actually ask what you might want for Christmas, as you drive past strip malls with larger than life Santa decorations smiling and removing all doubt that the big day is virtually here. And then finally, when the last school bell rings before the winter recess, (thus concluding a day that hardly counted as a school day at all, because it was filled with parties and movies and free time with kids engaged in conversations focusing on comparing holiday plans that their families would be involved in,  and generally an exciting air of expectation) and kids would go racing off to their homes. School was done until January (see you next year! Ha-ha!), and in the meantime, it was the season of getting (if you were a fortunate kid, that is – and one of the holiday gifts that probably is better appreciated with age is just how rare and fortunate being such a kid is, on many levels). All that waiting, and there I was, wide awake downstairs in a sleeping house still only dimly lit by the early morning light. Oh, everyone would wake up, eventually. But it seemed impossibly long and torturous, those final hours (Or were they merely minutes that seemed like hours to a small child? That seemed, in fact, like years) until everyone would wake up, and I would shamelessly lead them to the living room to finally open all of those beautiful gifts and end the mystery, finally slaking that thirst.

This is, of course, before adulthood. Before you realize all of the more stressful aspects of the holiday season. Before the time when being bombarded by aggressive Christmas sales and Black Friday and cards and gifts and parties and obligations came into play. Before the bills came in to add to all of those other bills that keep piling up, and you realize that it might be a good idea to pick up some extra hours of overtime when the new year came and sent you back to your job, or jobs.

When you are fully grown, these are the new realities of the holidays. The stress and tensions that so many people fear from these family get-togethers, when toys no longer distract you, and when conversations have the potential to turn unpleasant or annoying, if not worse. The older you get, the less you look forward to all of those wonderful gifts that can make such a wonderful presentation by the Christmas tree, because now, you know the cost of such a lovely presentation. You are an adult now, and the main thing that you can rely on savoring is the blessed ability to sleep in (unless you have an impatient child intent on waking you up bright and early, as I did when younger), and perhaps being able to pig out on all of that delicious food (my personal favorite would be win and cheese, which is almost like milk and cookies for adults), and maybe add some holiday cheer by consuming entirely too much of that spiked eggnog. Before you wake up the next morning and begin to piece together the broken fragments of the dreamy holidays and realize that it had turned into a nightmare right about the time that you lost all of your inhibitions and decided to show off that cool tattoo you got on your rear quarters to that aunt you have not seen in so long (and no doubt will not see again for quite a long time, much to the relief of you both). Before you remember singing far too loudly, and remember the mockingly indulgent smiles of some, and the harsher, but more hushed recriminations of others who tried to get you to stop before you took it much, much too far (too late! Fait accompli!). You try not to think about which reaction is worse, but it can be hard to think about anything else, until finally, you return home to normal life, not sure if you should feel grateful upon realizing that the holiday break seemed far too short, and that, yet again, your time off seemed to not have been utilized in the best manner possible. But at least these embarrassing holiday memories become exactly that – memories. Maybe next year you can pull yourself together better. Maybe it becomes your New Year’s Resolution, even. Well, that, and losing those extra pounds that seemed to have mysteriously attached themselves to every part of your body that you do not want them.

But the holidays can still be pleasant. People can seem genuinely in better spirits. More willing to give, even if it is just a smile. Often times, it is far more than that.

Which brings me to another holiday tradition that I cherish, albeit on an entirely different level, and for different reasons.

I neither lived on Brady Street, nor have any strong affection for it, other than this one story that was, as chance would have it, one of the most memorable of these festive traditions. My family lived in West Milford township, in a small house on High Street, on what could be considered a hill. On top of that hill was Brady Street. Turn left, and this road will end maybe one hundred yards downhill, joining a more clustered network of houses, a busier street. Make a right, and you will see a couple of houses on a dead end street.

Now, West Milford had an annual tradition where members of the fire department would drive around town with someone dressed as Santa Claus, waving to the locals as the horns and sirens blared. It was, and remains, a relatively sleepy town, but this was often enough to arouse children (and a number of adults, as well) out of their homes, and to happily wave back, and express their appreciation and holiday cheer. You could hear them coming from quite a distance, and so there was usually time to prepare.

That in itself does not make this story unique, of course. It is probably fairly common practice for townships to have something more or less like this. But what made my particular memories of this event stand out is that, maybe for three of four years running, I would come out to see that fire truck turn onto our street at the bottom of the hill, and then proceed upwards, where inevitably, the fire truck with blaring horns and the smiling, waving Santa would systematically make a right onto Brady Street, which was, of course, a dead end.

I never actually saw them when they pulled in, but I could imagine the smiling and waving continuing...until maybe a couple of hundred yards down the road or so, when it abruptly ended.

Usually, the fire truck seemed to pause, as if unsure of how to proceed with this unexpected development (although I began to wonder just how unexpected this development actually was when it became a holiday tradition). Suddenly, the sirens would fall silent, and those men that accompanied Santa, perhaps maybe even dressed as holiday elves, would climb down and have to guide the enormous truck out of the fairly narrow, dead end residential street. It always seemed to take quite some time, maybe ten and even twenty minutes, to guide the truck out, and this obviously interfered with the general hoopla and good cheer of a positive holiday sentiment. As it approach my street again, they would have to caution cars, of which there were always a few, since High Street is a nice shortcut that is frequently used by locals, even by people who do not live on the street itself.

And so it went, for a few consecutive years. I remember once, my mom and I were in the living room, and we both heard the Santa truck coming. Having remembered this Brady Street tradition, which always put a slightly sour note, I'm sure, on the day's events, I remember pulling back the curtains and wondering aloud if they would do it again this year.

As it passed our house, the smiling Santa and his helpers would be waving, often only to us, since hardly anyone else on our section of the street got out of their homes.

“I wonder if it's going to make the right onto Brady Street again?” my mom asked.

About a minute or two later, we watched as the fire truck reached the top of the hill, and as if pulled by some stronger force than it could muster the will to resist, the truck would make the right turn. I would watch Santa and his helpers, still forever smiling and waving, disappear behind the corner house that blocked my view. Of course, disappear is not the best choice of words here, because there really was no mystery as to where it went. The main mystery was how long would it take to get out this time, and whether or not they would do it yet again next year. Perhaps the greatest was that it happened every time. True, this was before GPS and all of the modern technology that might have helped to avoid this annoying (at least for the Santa fire truck and, perhaps, the residents of Brady Street) and surely unintentional Christmas season tradition.

Still, there is an endearing element to these memories. It was, after all, a nice gesture that simply had this fairly minor mishap. And although the fire department no longer seems to make this right onto Brady Street anymore, and finding out the hard way (time and again and again as luck would have it) that it is a dead end street, the fire truck now passes by it without really even coming close to getting trapped again. But, in my memory, there will always be a part of me that longs to see the sweet confusion of a simple, if predictable, mistake, that helps keep our humanity and humor intact in the manufactured chaos that our present holiday season has become.

The NRA Responds

At a hotel in downtown Washington, not far from the White House, the National Rifle Association (NRA) held it's long anticipated press conference, where it had promised to make a "meaningful contribution" to the debate about how to end much gun violence - particularly mass shootings.

The NRA had remained silent for days in the wake of the Newtown shootings a week earlier, where 20-year-old Adam Lanza, in effect, stole his mother's guns, using it against her as she slept, and then going to the local elementary school, Sandy Hook Elementary, where his mother worked, and blasting his way in after they did not let him in. He then proceeded to kill 20 children and 6 adults, before turning the gun on himself.

The nation was utterly shocked. It had seen this kind of a thing before - plenty of times, actually. But perhaps it was the nature of this attack in particular- where little children were targeted and mercilessly murdered - that breathed new life into gun control advocates. While gun control and taking on the powerful NRA lobby has never been easy, and in fact, has been something that politicians are so reluctant to do that they often skirt the issue altogether, the shock value of the tragedy in Connecticut last week seemed to kick start a renewed effort to put in place new gun laws and restrictions with a fierce sense of urgency.

The gun debate was back on, and this time, it seemed, there was a change: for a few days, it was gun advocates who were unusually quiet and reserved, and gun control advocates seemed to be gearing up for major action. The NRA remained uncharacteristically silent.

But that changed by mid-week, when the NRA announced that it would hold a major press conference on Friday (yesterday) and would have contribute to the gun debate and how to curb the violence in a real way.

Some were expecting that the NRA, not known for making any concessions, to finally show a willingness to compromise.

That did not happen.

NRA Vice-President Wayne LaPierre claimed that the best answer, at least in the immediate future, to ending school violence is to place armed guards in every school. He said that armed guards kept places like banks, airports, and other public buildings safer, and that it would help make schools safer, as well. "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," he said.

"Think about it," he said, "We care about our money, so we protect our banks with armed guards. American airports, office buildings, power plants, courthouses, even sports stadiums are all protected by armed security."

He went on to say how the President and members of Congress inside of the Capitol building have armed guards protecting them.

"Yet when it comes to our most beloved, innocent, and vulnerable members of the American family, our children, we as a society leave them everyday utterly defenseless. And the monsters and the predators of the world know it and exploit it. That must change now."

"Why is the idea of a gun good when it's used to protect our president or our country or our police, but bad when it's used to protect our children in their schools?"

He also asked those listening: "Does anybody really believe that the next Adam Lanza isn't planning his attack on a school he's already identified at this very moment?"

LaPierre also pointed fingers of blame. He said:

“A child growing up in America today witnesses 16,000 murders and 200,000 acts of violence by the time he or she reaches the ripe old age of 18,” he said. “And throughout it all, too many in the national media, their corporate owners, and their stockholders act as silent enablers, if not complicit co-conspirators. Rather than face their own moral failings, the media demonized gun owners.”

The press conference was interrupted twice by protesting gun control advocates.

Responses were varied nationwide. But there was a strong wave of resistance to this new "contribution" to the debate by the NRA. Dennis Van Roekel, the President of the National Education Association, responded: "If your purpose is to reduce gun violence in schools, then the solution isn't to add more guns to schools."

Bill Bond, a consultant National Association of Secondary School Principals, said that while the NRA's proposals of having an armed guard would likely improve school security, it is not sure that it would have prevented what happened at Sandy Hook last week - or perhaps if it will prevent the next such attack. "He might have stopped it. He might have shortened it. He might have been the first one killed," Bond said.

The head of the nation's largest teacher's union claimed that the NRA was "out of touch".

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has long been a gun control advocate, also chimed in, blasting the NRA's proposal.

"They offer a paranoid, dystopian vision of a more dangerous and violent America where everyone is armed and no place is safe, " he said of the NRA and their proposals from yesterday's press conference.



Personal Opinion

It seems to me that guns and gun control appears so divisive, that it is the new slavery that seems to be dividing this nation, tearing it apart. The two sides seem to be so far apart, so that they cannot understand one another.

LaPierre also made a prediction about the media, claiming that they will unfairly taint the stories to favor their own, anti-gun positions. He said:

"More guns, you'll claim, are the NRA's answer to everything. Your implication will be that guns are evil and have no place in society, much less in our schools."

The thing is, the NRA's answer always seems to be more guns. When has it ever advocated a different position? Let us not forget that the NRA profits from the popularity of guns, and there consistency with pro-gun positions, and wanting more, not less, guns within our society, speaks for itself. It was like that in the aftermath of Columbine, when the NRA put forth a similar proposal, wanting armed guards in all of our schools. More guns were the answer back then, as well. Was it really different this time around, when they essentially proposed the same thing? Having armed guards inside of every school is, indeed, bringing more guns into our schools, is it not? It also surely would raise government expenditures and involvement, and this is a proposal by people who usually are so vehement about smaller government with less involvement in people's everyday lives.

Plus, armed guards won't always prevent or stop shootings, although the NRA does not seem to mention or recognize that very real possibility.

LaPierre also asked what makes guns protecting children in school so bad, when we find it so acceptable to have people with guns protecting the president, or banks, or others. I think perhaps one answer would be that it would be tantamount to accepting that such things as mass shootings are the reality in this world, or perhaps particularly in this country. Other countries may have apparently solved their problem by banning, or severely restricting, the availability of the very deadliest assault weapons and semi-automatic weapons, but the NRA's position is, always has been, and always will be that this is the United States, and thus, we cannot impose any limitations on the whims of any given citizen to purchase the weapon of their choice, no matter how deadly, and no matter what the intended use. If someone is "bad", purchases some assault weapons, and desires to go to a local school and start shooting, then there will be a "good guy" with a gun to strike him down. That is the better solution than to imposing any restrictions on allowing that sick individual to get those weapons in the first place. So, the easy solution, the one that they presented as their "meaningful contribution", is actually the same old argument that they have used in the past. They simply recycled it, or perhaps a more apt way of putting it with the NRA is to say they reloaded it, to take aim now at their detractors. More armed men is the answer to combat other, "bad" armed men. Armed guards will apparently solve the problem, and any limitations on acces to weapons is simply not an option that is on the table with the NRA.

Let me reiterate, however, that this is not a new line of argument for the NRA. Not even close. In April of 1999, in the aftermath of the Columbine shootings, Charlton Heston said, "If there had been even one armed guard in the school, he could have saved a lot of lives and perhaps ended the whole thing instantly."

Remember, Columbine had an armed guard, an armed sheriff's deputy, but no one, most especially the NRA, will brag about the success of having an armed guard that time. In fact, it seems that they tend not to mention that fact at all, and Charlton Heston seemed to have conveniently rewritten history to suit the NRA's purposes. Columbine did indeed have an armed guard on that awful day, but having an armed guard seemed not to have helped at all that time.

But is it really that surprising? After all, there were two kids with advanced weaponry in that school shooting. Adam Lanza had very sophisticated weaponry in last week's shootings, as well. A guard might not risk his life, sacrifice himself, in order to stop such a shooting. If he is outgunned, the truth of the matter is that we cannot rely on him to actually stop, or even to slow, the slaughter.

Also, there is the not small matter of our schools increasingly beginning to resemble prisons, with locked doors and armed guards and orderly lines everywhere. I can't be the only one who thinks that this might not be the best solution, that it is, in fact, a bad thing.

Let us also not forget that mass shootings are not by any means restricted to schools. There was another mass shooting in Pennsylvania just yesterday morning. And we all remember that recently, we had public shootings in situations that were entirely different from Newtown, and away from any schools. There was the shooting that targeted Congresswoman Giffords, as well as the movie theater at Aurora, Colorado, and at the Siek temple in Michigan. The victims there were not always entirely adults, either. Should we rely and place our entire trust on private citizens carrying guns to stop those kinds of incidents?

Already, there are 140,000 schools throughout the United States, and it would undeniably be an enormous expense to put armed guards in every single one of them. But what about other places that have mass shootings? Are armed guards the answers there? Or should we trust citizens, or as the NRA would put it, "good guys" with guns to take care of the "bad guys" when these things happen?

The NRA thinks of guns simply as tools, and that these tools are what helped build this country. Anyone can use them, and it is up to the user, whether these tools are used in the right way, or in the wrong way. But guns are a proud, American tradition.

But tools are usually used for something constructive. What possibly can be a constructive use of a semi-automatic weapon, which remain legal? When actually used, it is designed to do one thing: kill. Kill efficiently, at that. Quickly and efficiently, and that is why such weapons have been used in such shootings time and time again.

The days of the wild, wild west are over. We are supposed to be a civilized nation. Yet, of all the industrialized nations, we are the only one that seems to have so many mass shootings. Let me repeat, because that is a point that bears repeating: we are the only industrialized nation in which mass shootings is a routine problem. Other nations can't evne begin to understand the American mentality on this particular issue. The British press apparently had to give a warning that the NRA's much anticipated press conference was "not a parody". There was nothing new in it, and it seemed that the NRA had absolutely nothing to say about Sandy Hook, or any real potential solutions to solving, or at least limiting, America's problem with such random mass shootings.  It seems that there are large stretches of time when we hardly go more than a few weeks, a few months at most, without some kind of mass shooting. Since the Aurora shootings this past summer, we have had to hear about shootings like a number of times already. Where else do you hear about such things with an alarming degree of regularity and repetition? For that matter, where else would an organization like the NRA get away with the repetition of their own arguments, and their own narrow self-interest?

The NRA has a membership of around 4 million, and yet they seem to wield enormous power over a nation of well over 300 million. To say that they have hit harder than their weight is an understatement, and a major one at that.. They also continually claim that banning any such weapons would be pointless because, they claim, people who really want such weapons will get them, whether they are legal or not. But is this not a nation of laws? What good are those laws, or any laws, really, if we keep making the self-serving excuse that people who ignore the laws of the land will ultimately win out in the end, time and time again? So, we should just trust in the good intentions of those who buy such deadly weapons, trust that they will not use them for harm and, failing that, that some armed good guy will step in and save the day whenever one of these nuts suddenly mistakes gun violence as portrayed in countless movies or video games for real life, and plays his own, deadly version of "shoot 'em up"?
Perhaps, as the NRA suggests, we should suspend our suspicions and simply trust "good" gun owners. But the gun owner in last weeks shootings in Newtown was also fit the definition of a "good" gun owner. Evidently, she boasted about her guns from time to time, and took great pride in possessing them. She herself was killed, having never done anything really truly wrong with those guns. Yet, they not only were used against her, but then used against the twenty children and six adults killed in the carnage, before Adam Lanza used them on himself. There may be some who would argue that she used poor judgment in having such guns on her home with such a disturbed individual like Adam Lanza living with her. Or, perhaps, the fault was hers for not keeping them locked up more securely?

Why is it that it's always individuals being blamed for these actions, and that there always seems to be enough fingerpointing to go around? It was Adam Lanza's fault, to be sure. But was his mother not at least a bit to blame? What about psychologists? Shouldn't they have been able to see this coming, to see some signs? What about unarmed teachers and principals? Should they get the brunt of the blame?

Is that what we have come to in America? We simply find convenient scapegoats to blame?




"NRA offensive exposes deep U.S. divisions on guns" by David Ingram and Patricia Zengerle of Reuters
http://news.yahoo.com/nra-offensive-exposes-deep-u-divisions-guns-001840917--finance.html;_ylt=A2KLOzL6mNVQgnUAVYjQtDMD


"NRA wants armed guns in schools" by Patricia Zengerle, Dan Burns, and Edith Honan
http://news.yahoo.com/more-funerals-newtown-white-house-gun-task-force-003934633.html


"NRA Press Conference: Put Armed Guards in Schools (+ video)", by Linda Fieldmann of the Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2012/1221/NRA-press-conference-Put-armed-guards-in-schools-video


Here's an interesting op/ed piece by Kristin A. Goss of CNN, "NRA's Vision of "genuine monsters"

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/21/opinion/goss-nra-guns/index.html


This was also an interesting piece which illustrates just how difficult it is to predict who is at risk of massive violence at any given time or place:

http://news.yahoo.com/predicting-whos-risk-violence-isnt-easy-083151325.html

I thought this was a worthwhile article on the NRA, as well, and so will add it here:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkroll/2012/12/22/the-nras-communications-crisis-crisis/

Halloween For the Holidays

Here's my son and I, enjoying a moment together. 

Just lately, things have been very serious. There was the school shooting last Friday, and there have been what seems like an endless number of funerals since, for far too many victims.

The world scene does not look much better, with the war continuing to rage in Syria, and Israel going ahead with plans to develop on lands that don't belong to them.

Here in Washington, talks of the "Fiscal Cliff" are still dominating the news, as is the stalemate. Boehner came up with what was called the Republican's "Plan B", which finally allowed for a tax increase for the richest among us, although it was restricted to those who made $1 million or more. But that plan stalled right in Boehner's own House, since it did not have enough Republican support, evidently. Can anyone say, embarrassing?

Of course, today, the 21st of December, is the day that, allegedly, the Mayans predicted would be the end of the world, according to many. Frankly, to my understanding, the Mayans did not predict that this would be the day the world ends. It is only the end of the Mayan calendar, and even that is under dispute. Some feel that we got the math wrong, and that the "real" end is on a later date. Others claim we got it wrong, and that the Mayans suggested no such thing, and that all the hype about an apocalyptic ending is indeed, just that: hype. We shall see. I'm guessing we will have to go on Mayan time, and that means that we have, perhaps, at least 24 hours to go until the end of this day.

But in the meantime, I thought it might be fun to do something a bit more lighthearted. Here in New Jersey, Halloween was officially delayed (frankly, it felt more like it was cancelled) following Halloween. That was kind of a bummer, too. So, I thought it might be fun to celebrate Halloween (at least a little bit) tonight, and took some pictures with my son.

There were three costumes from recent years that he still fit into. The first was Spiderman, which I got him the outfit for this year. He did get to use it in school, although it was the following week, when they rescheduled Halloween celebrations. At least they got to enjoy that, and show off and enjoy each other's uniforms, and just be kids.

The next one was Wolverine. Until recently, Wolverine was my son's favorite superhero. Some years ago, he wanted to legally change his name to Wolverine. I contemplated it, but after careful consideration, decided against it.

The final costume is of Darth Vader. You will notice, of course, that the helmet is way too big for Vader's body. Still, these were pretty cool pics.

Following the tragic events at Newtown last Friday, a week ago as I write this, I really have wanted to spend  not only more time, but quality time, with my son, Sebastien. Of course, it's not all fun and games. I am working with him on some things that he needs some help with, such as spelling and reading. But, there is also room for some fun, and a little taste of Halloween for the holiday season just seemed like a cool idea, especially since the opportunity was limited at best this past October, thanks to Sandy. Hopefully, it was quality time together, given extra added life by the click of a camera, freezing the moment and capturing it, so that it may continue to live on far beyond that day, that hour. I love photography, and really should do more of it. The quality of this camera may not have been the best, but I would like to get a better one in the near future. For now, I have enjoyed these ones, and the spirit that is, hopefully, represented in them.

I know that you nobody reading this (except for family) will enjoy them as much as I do, but still, in the spirit of the holidays, I just thought I'd share. He means the world to me (I remind him of that every chance I get), and since this is a time to appreciate what we have and most value in life, it seems entirely fitting for me to pay tribute to what I value the most.

Wolverine used to be his favorite Superhero. At first it was Spiderman, then it became Wolverine, and now, he has gone back to Spiderman as his favorite. But when he gets to dress up as Wolverine, he really gets into the act, as you can probably tell. Here he is, making one of the more famous Wolverine poses.

I really liked this picture, because it almost looks as if he's using his Jedi mind tricks in order to make a ball levitate, just like in the first Star Wars movie. However, it is his toy lightsaber, and all that is happening is that he is pointing it very close to the camera. But the effect was pretty good, and it makes this one of my favorite pics of the bunch! 

Not sure why he wanted me to take a picture of him playing a video game, but he did. This shows off the scarf & Tiger Scout shirt from the back. 

Here's lookin' at you, kid!

Maybe it's the poor quality of the camera, or maybe this is just a picture from closer up. But here, his claws somehow look a lot less intimidating, although his pose indicates that he is ready to strike! Bad guys, beware!

Darth Vader, with mask, gun, and lightsaber.

Again, not sure why he wanted me to show pictures of his games. But I promised, so here they are. 

I like this picture, because he really could pass for Wolverine/Logan, as far as his facial gesture is concerned. He looks angry and nasty and bad news for Supervillains everywhere, wherever they might be hiding.

Not sure if the picture comes out clearly here, but Lord Vader apparently is walking about with bare feet! 

Hey, it's the holiday season! Here's some web in your face! Sebast, pointing the web shooters directly at the camera.

Showing off the weapons from a galaxy far, far away - his imagination, that is. 

A crazed looking, miniature version of Peter Parker/Spiderman. Perhaps he just got in a fight with the Green Goblin, and is still a bit peeved about it. 

Wolverine again, although this time, he must be battle weary, because he seems a bit tired here. 

Here, he is doing a pose that seems to be a mix of Napoleon Bonaparte and Darth Vader. Not sure what provoked it, but thought it was cute enough to incorporate in this collection.

Here is Sebast, enjoying the view of his recently added muscles. 

I want YOU to join the Dark Side of the Force!

My little son in his Tiger's Scout outfit, donning a fake smile. I thought this was as  good a way as any to conclude this blog, with a picture of him in his scout uniform, and with his trademark photograph fake smile. He makes me proud every day!