September 2014 Thoughts and Observations

Thoughts and observations from September 2014:

• For some extra money, I am listening to, watching, and typing out the words said in these lectures from a left wing and sort of religious organization, Sojourners they are called, at Georgetown University. If I wasn't being paid to do, I wouldn't. Be that as it may, it is interesting and good that I do listen to what the other side of me politically has to say. It seems to me that those lefties say a lot of things that are not true or at best half true, and they have no idea what it is that the right or conservatives really believe. I don't really feel that they challenge my views in the least.

• I am a big fan of breakfast. I would wear a shirt with the words breakfast printed on them if such a thing was available.

• I thought to check up on the standings in the Canadian Football League, and I was stunned. What I mean is, that for the CFL, which I hope will always be with us, the standings were an embarrassment. The league has a five team Western Division and a four team Eastern Division. Looking at the standings on their web site , the West division is usually at the top and the East Division is on the bottom. I first noticed, as I looked at the league site, that the last place team in the West division of the league had a 6 – 5 record, that is a winning record. A lot of losing teams in the East Division I thought, but I didn't expect to see what I was to see. Scrolling down to the East division, I saw that the first place team had a 3 – 7 record, that is three wins and seven losses, four games below .500! It was unfortunate that there were no sports fan in the office to whom I could show these standings.

• I am reading The First Circle by Alexander S. Reading it on my Ipad, I highlighted the following passage: in that moment of weariness and self-satisfaction, the temptation is greatest to give up, not to strive for the peak of quality. Try as I might to make the writing in my blogging better by reading and rereading and rereading and editing a piece as many times as I can, I do experience that moment of weariness and self-satisfaction, and just say "fuck it" and press the publish button. I got to stop doing that.

• I look at myself being nearly fifty years old. How old is the "I " that is looking at himself being fifty years old?

• I had a student tell me that her favorite animal was a fish. She then told me her favorite food was fish. She liked eating her favorite animal. There is nobody I like enough to eat.

• A local acquaintance of mine was asking what I thought about the Scottish independence question. I told him what I read David Warren said, which was that the English would be crazy to want to keep the Scots and that the Scots would be crazy to want to break away from the English. But why do they want to leave? the acquaintance asked. I said that they wanted their own country. Like the people in Quebec? He asked. Sort of, I said. And the acquaintance mentioned people from Jiangying, a district of Wuxi. Jiangying people, he said, say they are from Jiangying, not from Wuxi. All the while, Wuxi people who don't live in Jianggying district think Jiangying is part of Wuxi. There is local pride, of a sort, in China. (Jiangying or Jiangyin?)

• The sensible part of me desires a No vote in the Scottish Referendum. The monster raving lunatic joker part of me desires a Yes vote.

• I am the andis in outlandish.

• I like Vincent Price movies. I have watched three this month and they are all just wonderful.

• Here are some WeChat moments I would like to publish using other people's WeChat accounts: 1)Sunshine and Lollipops. Bubble Gum and Ice Cream. Happy, happy, happy, happy day! 2) I got drunk, went to a toy store with my niece, and bought four Barbie dolls. Am I a good uncle or what? 3) I think that ______ and I are better together! (WeChat is a mobile social app that I and many of my students use.)

• This is not the only blogging I did for September. Expect more entries in the next few days.