09 Friday Feb 2018
Posted in Literature, Uncategorized
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Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk. A convert to Catholicism after a somewhat dissolute youth, he chose the consecrated and contemplative life. His autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain is a classic of Twentieth Century literature.
I don’t think you have to be Catholic or even particularly religious, to find a big chunk of truth in this quote.
04 Sunday Feb 2018
Posted in Literature, Politics, Sport
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I am currently in my Non-Sports Fan Modality. This phase comes and goes over a lifetime. Last baseball season, when Yankee right fielder Aaron Judge had his breakout year, I got jazzed up about baseball again. That enthusiasm bled over into the NFL season. And then…
I had enough. Enough Takeout Pizza commercials, beer commercials, soft drink, car, truck, smartphone, diamond commercials. Get it? The enthusiasm bubble burst, like a North Korean condom.
And then there is the game itself. Sure the players are great athletes, but then figure skaters, swimmers, bicyclists, and distance runners are great athletes too. Just for starters. There simply comes a time when I get tired of the spectacular catches, explosive runs from scrimmage, timely interceptions, and other superlative adjective demanding feats. It is called overexposure, Sports Fans.
There are the Sermons and Statements, and Gestures. Football has always been associated with Mom, Apple Pie, and The Flag (High Octane Gasoline, too I guess). So when somebody has a beef with the Good Ol’ U S of A, I’m not surprised it gets expressed at a football game. Free Speech means that a person can express what he/she believes, it also means that I get to ignore them. You too. The ignoring is as important as the expressing. Maybe more so. For example, I’ve been a wishy-washy State Of The Union viewer through the last seven Presidents, going back to Carter. I don’t get a knock at the door from an FBI agent asking why I don’t watch (or care). You don’t either, I’ll betcha.
So this wonderful unique American institution, the NFL Championship Game will be…..
ignored by millions.
And that is perfectly cool.
09 Saturday Sep 2017
Posted in Literature, loneliness, Love and stuff
I have been up since 3:30 or thereabouts. I went upstairs last night to be with Mrs CorC?. She was watching The Andy Griffith Show episodes, then shows on lottery winners shopping for new houses on HGTV. OK. That was nice, I suppose, but the house-hunting millionaires inspired such chagrin in me I can’t begin to describe it. I have a house, I have a pretty good life. What do I care about the desires of lottery winners?.
Usually at this hour, I take time to pray the Rosary. Now I am watching a movie in Greek about the poet C. P. Cavafy on YouTube. Since I don’t understand Greek, I must follow the story through the images and visual narrative. This is always a rewarding activity in that it gets one out of a customary way of seeing the world.
I feel sleep wanting to return. I’m debating whether to return to the “big bed” where my wife is sleeping or to sleep alone
Who can describe the pain of loneliness and the burdened heart? Blessed Mother you know me so well. Let me aspire to dream at your feet, enveloped in your pristine love.
21 Friday Jul 2017
Posted in cooking, Exercise/ Fitness, Literature, Sexuality, Uncategorized
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I am swimming an awful lot this month, averaging six days out of seven. At one point, I saw that I could swim a total of forty miles this month. Then, when my sister and her husband went on vacation to Florida, I saw that this goal was readily within reach. You see DH, my brother-in-law, usually takes D my stepmom to the Y on days when I don’t. So with going to the Y daily darn near mandatory, there was no reason for me to wheedle out of a swim. As of yesterday, I have swum 26.4 miles (42.5km). This leaves a little over thirteen miles left with ten days to finish. At 2500 meters per day, this is readily do-able. The good news is my repaired parts, especially my rotator cuff, are holding up.
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, I have been trying new stuff. I had some leftover slow-cooked cilantro lime chicken I made pulled chicken tacos with. I did cheat and use a packet of Old El Paso Chicken Taco Seasoning. I found Ortega Blue Corn Taco Shells. Even 60+ year-old Adults like Taco Night. I also made a sweet & sour red cabbage/apple side dish, spiced with cinnamon, clove and coriander that was also yummy. Real easy to make: slice or chop the red cabbage. Core a Granny Smith apple and cut in rings. Put in a non-stick skillet over medium heat, turning frequently. Add the spices. I don’t measure. I use the “That tastes good.” standard. When good and cooked down, I add a tablespoon of turbinado sugar (brown sugar would also work) and a tablespoon of vinegar. Maybe more, if that sweet/sour experience is your “thing”. Turn down the heat to warm or thereabouts. Remember to eat it.
At three A.M, when I couldn’t sleep, I woke up and read a story in a Lesbian BDSM anthology, I “inherited” from my deceased lesbian cousin’s cache of books. The Second Coming is a collection of stories essays and photographs compiled by Pat (now Patrick) Califia and Robin Sweeney. (Alyson Books, 1996). The story “Possession” by Sorel Husbands is a pretty powerful gang rape fantasy, that works because of how it deals with emotions and psychology. Not for the squemish, but the author emphasizes that it is fantasy. My erotic sensibilities and experiences are, more or less, on hiatus. So I read a lot of stuff, somewhat dispassionately.
The balance of today will consist of the Y and a swim, AA, finding something for lunch, and dreaming up something to fix for dinner. Salmon appears to be winning. I’ll find some asparagus too.
Life is good.
Hug your children.
Love your lovers .
Make sure your pets are well hydrated.
Keep cool.
28 Wednesday Jun 2017
Posted in Bloggers, food, Literature, personal grooming
This morning began late. Well actually it began too early. I was up around three AM because Mrs CorC? had episodes of Highway Patrol playing on YouTube. Somehow Broderick Crawford barking “10-4!” and the relentless orchestration had failed to take me to Dreamland. So I was up for a while, settling my restless spirit, went back to sleep around four, waking up for good around eight AM. I had a meeting at ten and put off eating until after the meeting. I was nostalgically pulled to the quirky downtown diner I treat myself to from time to time. I went down and, perusing the menu through the Weight Watchers filter, found nothing I really wanted to spend a day’s worth of points to eat. So I had a scrambled egg, sausage and a biscuit and still used 18 Smart Points. for some reason, the ambiance was off today. Time to move on.
I’ve been having a delightful interchange with the author at Secret Life Of A Siren. It started with her referencing Canto XX. I know about “Cantos” from Ezra Pound and Siren redirected me to Dante’, as in Dante’ Alighieri, author of a classic of Western Literature, The Divine Comedy. Much to my embarassment, I admitted that I had not read The Divine Comedy, despite its significance in Western arts and letters. A quick rummaging around my quarters did not reveal the copy I know I have, sooooo, I went to the public library, (of all places!) and checked out a copy. Public Libraries are these places where you can borrow a book, read and return it and it’s free. Who Knew?
Next I went to get a haircut. I was past due for a cut. I told Brittany The Barber to use the #1 and show no mercy. She did. I feel normal again and not quite deranged, as I feel when my hair starts to look odd and sticks straight up when I run my fingers through it.
