Early this morning, Jack McCarthy died. I've written about him a few times, most notedly here. It's very sad, but not unexpected. His voice has been silenced, but his words and influence will remain. The subject header of this post is a line from one of Jack's poems. Rest in peace, Jack. And thank you.
Jack was a Haiku Master, winning the championship at IWPS in 2007. Tomorrow night I'll be taking part in a Haiku Death Match for Writers' Block First Draft. It's the Haiku Nuku January event. Starts at 8PM at Kafe Kerouac.
I have very little to say about Lance Armstrong, but can add a couple of pennies about the drama that is surrounding Mantei Te'o. It's very depressing when one goes to such a deep effort of creating a person online whose only purpose seem to be manipulative. A few years ago I was in a situation where Catfishing was created and people close to me were drawn into and manufacturing the craziness. It's not fun and potentially harmful. So if Te'o was sucked in and is a victim, he has my sympathy. However, I do think he was involved in the hoax based on his claims that he met the girl in person. It's a weird situation all around.
Showing posts with label crazy people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crazy people. Show all posts
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Monday, July 23, 2012
A long post, mostly sports related
You may remember that we saw the Vice President's limo go by my workplace last week. Turns out, after his speech there were still people outside the building, waving and cheering as his motorcade went down the road. Biden stopped the limo, unexpectedly as the rest of the detail traveled on, got out and shook a bunch of hands.
The Vice President attached himself to one my co-workers, would not let go of her hand as he talked to people, asked for their names. He suggested they take a group shot on the stairs, which produced a wonderful photo that I wish I could post here, but it's not mine to post.
I left about an hour earlier so I do not feel bad about missing him. If it was ten minutes though, I'd be kicking myself for a missed opportunity. It was a great experience for librarians!
The NC$$ issued what it thinks is a severe and unprecedented penalty on Penn State University. In addition to scholarship reductions and losing post season opportunities for four years, the University was also fined sixty million dollars for covering up Jerry Sandusky's being a child rapist.
The one thing the NC$$ did that shocked me was erasing the wins of the team going back to 1998, when the cover up for Sandusky's crimes of child rape began. This wiped out coach Joe Paterno's coaching wins record, and most of his legacy at Penn State. A clear message was sent with this punishment.
A lot of people were expecting the 'death penalty', the team being shut down. However, as the NC$$ explains in its 'rules', the death penalty only goes to teams that deliberately cheated to gain advantage on the field. This is a tragic and unique case. I think the penalties issued are fair, justly harsh. In some ways, even worse than the death penalty, the program is going to be weak for many years. I am surprised that they did not issue a ban on playing, or that the team was not allowed to appear on television. The football culture of the university is going to be difficult to change. I do not think the administration really gets it, not in the theater they used in tearing down Paterno's statue early Sunday morning. Change has to start at the top, where the trouble and cover ups for child rape lie.
Going back to the sixty million dollars though. That is a lot of money. it's supposed to go toward helping sexual abuse survivors. I do hope this is the case, and that helping and healing victims comes from this tragic series of events. That money could go a long way to help.
The horrors of the Colorado theater shooting still resonate. It's still easier to buy weapons online that liquor in this country. Peace to the victims and their families. Strength to all the victims. I do not have any more words for this.
The Blue Jackets finally traded the franchise today, shipping Rick Nash to the Rangers. An expected move. I think Howson got the best deal he could, now and at the trade deadline it would have been about the same. Dubinsky is a solid player. Anisimov is a young scoring center with some upside. Erixson is a young defenseman with a lot of potential. They're very deep and competitive at the blue line. Now they have to address the goaltending situation and hope a bunch of players (especially you, Derek Brassard!) start to establish themselves and put the puck in the net. The double teaming of Nash has stopped. It's time for the potential to get to work.
The Blue Jackets also got a number one draft pick, which gives them three for the next draft.
A lot of people do not think Howson got enough for Nash. I do not think any package would have been enough for a lot of people. I wish Nash well. He had it very easy in Columbus for the ten years he was here. Expectations and pressure will be a lot higher in New York. We'll find out if he's capable of handling them.
News comes that Everton's Tim Cahill has been sold to the New York Red Bulls of the MLS. At his best, Cahill was one of the most passionate players on the pitch. An asset to the club. The Aussie often scored with his head then beat the crap out of the corner flag after doing so. I'll miss seeing him do that. In recent years though, I think his production dropped. Time to move on. He'll do well in America.
Then I found out the yankees traded for Ichiro. If anything can rejuvenate one of the greatest singles hitters in the game, a move to a winning team will.
Meanwhile the Mets relief pitching stinks, Jason Bay is worse and the Crew would rather have a tower than a designated player.
Sports calm me, keep my blood going and give me a sad - sometimes all at once.
The Vice President attached himself to one my co-workers, would not let go of her hand as he talked to people, asked for their names. He suggested they take a group shot on the stairs, which produced a wonderful photo that I wish I could post here, but it's not mine to post.
I left about an hour earlier so I do not feel bad about missing him. If it was ten minutes though, I'd be kicking myself for a missed opportunity. It was a great experience for librarians!
The NC$$ issued what it thinks is a severe and unprecedented penalty on Penn State University. In addition to scholarship reductions and losing post season opportunities for four years, the University was also fined sixty million dollars for covering up Jerry Sandusky's being a child rapist.
The one thing the NC$$ did that shocked me was erasing the wins of the team going back to 1998, when the cover up for Sandusky's crimes of child rape began. This wiped out coach Joe Paterno's coaching wins record, and most of his legacy at Penn State. A clear message was sent with this punishment.
A lot of people were expecting the 'death penalty', the team being shut down. However, as the NC$$ explains in its 'rules', the death penalty only goes to teams that deliberately cheated to gain advantage on the field. This is a tragic and unique case. I think the penalties issued are fair, justly harsh. In some ways, even worse than the death penalty, the program is going to be weak for many years. I am surprised that they did not issue a ban on playing, or that the team was not allowed to appear on television. The football culture of the university is going to be difficult to change. I do not think the administration really gets it, not in the theater they used in tearing down Paterno's statue early Sunday morning. Change has to start at the top, where the trouble and cover ups for child rape lie.
Going back to the sixty million dollars though. That is a lot of money. it's supposed to go toward helping sexual abuse survivors. I do hope this is the case, and that helping and healing victims comes from this tragic series of events. That money could go a long way to help.
The horrors of the Colorado theater shooting still resonate. It's still easier to buy weapons online that liquor in this country. Peace to the victims and their families. Strength to all the victims. I do not have any more words for this.
The Blue Jackets finally traded the franchise today, shipping Rick Nash to the Rangers. An expected move. I think Howson got the best deal he could, now and at the trade deadline it would have been about the same. Dubinsky is a solid player. Anisimov is a young scoring center with some upside. Erixson is a young defenseman with a lot of potential. They're very deep and competitive at the blue line. Now they have to address the goaltending situation and hope a bunch of players (especially you, Derek Brassard!) start to establish themselves and put the puck in the net. The double teaming of Nash has stopped. It's time for the potential to get to work.
The Blue Jackets also got a number one draft pick, which gives them three for the next draft.
A lot of people do not think Howson got enough for Nash. I do not think any package would have been enough for a lot of people. I wish Nash well. He had it very easy in Columbus for the ten years he was here. Expectations and pressure will be a lot higher in New York. We'll find out if he's capable of handling them.
News comes that Everton's Tim Cahill has been sold to the New York Red Bulls of the MLS. At his best, Cahill was one of the most passionate players on the pitch. An asset to the club. The Aussie often scored with his head then beat the crap out of the corner flag after doing so. I'll miss seeing him do that. In recent years though, I think his production dropped. Time to move on. He'll do well in America.
Then I found out the yankees traded for Ichiro. If anything can rejuvenate one of the greatest singles hitters in the game, a move to a winning team will.
Meanwhile the Mets relief pitching stinks, Jason Bay is worse and the Crew would rather have a tower than a designated player.
Sports calm me, keep my blood going and give me a sad - sometimes all at once.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Job Number Nine
Spent six and a half years here, the longest I've ever worked anywhere to date.
Not going to recap it much. That all went into my live journal, probably a bit too much of it went there. The great difficulty of the last few years were scarily detailed, when I tried getting ahead in the system and his the glass ceiling repeatedly.
Saw so much theft and lying, and people getting away with it on a daily basis. Learned too late it's not what you do wrong there, but who you are doing it. The place was crazy. A corporate culture of fear became predominant, and that came from management. A lot of people with serious problems would come in, and expect us to heal their woes. Many of the librarians were more like social workers who were skilled in calming down people who acted out continually.
I think this little rant summed up this experience best of all. We got this memo from the boss.
"Hi Staff,
I want your quick feedback on this...What is [workplace's] personality? What does it feel like? What does it look like? How would you describe it?
Please have your feedback to me..."
Naturally, being the obedient drone, I responded
"[workplace] is like the cool college professor you had. The one who would encourage open discussion on many topics without bias, but kept the conversation flowing and made the class safe and interesting. Everyone wanted to attend his classes. There were waiting lists every semester.
Until, seemingly overnight, the professor changed. Discussion was no longer encouraged. Busy work was assigned during class time that took away from the now infrequent open discussion of topics and ideas. Dissent of any kind was frowned upon. Class attendance dropped. Grades were now given by taking tests on opscan sheets instead of creative essays. Then, one semester, the professor disappeared, and no one knew where he went."
And I wondered why I never got that promotion, nor a reply.
The last straw was when HR spelled my name wrong on the memo they sent that told me I was not even going to be considered for an interview for a specific position.
Getting on the escape committee was hard though. In the end, it was a relief. I no longer wanted to be there. I'm sure my attitude was not great. It was best for everyone: myself, my coworkers and the customers. I rarely go in there anymore. The last few times there were people screaming at each other in the parking lot. A child was raped in the bathroom. Another kid was followed out of the building then robbed of his laptop at the nearby bus stop. It's not a safe place. I worry about the people who continue to work there.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The Sixth Job, or, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
It's always a risk to quit a job when you do not have one lined up. There never was a lot of money being brought in so it was time to look for work as soon as I left it. Do not remember if I took a day or two to sit around and mope. I certainly was not getting any calls from other wine retailers for my services. Applied at one of the big campus bookstores and got a call back a day or two later.
Interviewed for a part time cashier, got the job. The pay was crap, but it was to keep my slightly busy while I applied for full time work. Have to admit I thought I was cursed as one of the store managers died of a stroke a couple of days after I was hired. I never met him. I also saw the store owner, the ubiquitous Doc in the store just once the entire time I was there. His health took a turn for the worse shortly after I started.
The head cashier, the woman who hired me, was one of the oddest people I ever worked with. A tiny Italian woman whose only version of fun was reading Vogue. About a week into my time there, she asked if I wanted to be full time. I said yes. For the first time I had health insurance.
The work was not horrible, but weird, especially with the crazy head cashier moving people around stations like chess pieces. It certainly was a busy place. One morning a well dressed man was looking around the clothing. He looked like I'd seen him before and I asked him why he looked familiar to me when I rang up his OSU sweatshirt.
"I am," he said, extending his hand "Senator Bob Kerry."
"Dude, you nailed Debra Winger when you were Governor of Nebraska!"
Ok, I did not say that. His aide sidled up to me a couple of minutes later and said the Senator was impressed that I knew who he was.
Back to the head cashier though. There are a lot of stories about her, none of them particularly flattering. She drove a lot of good people away with her crazy tactics of management. I have to admit to taking pleasure, years after I left, when I heard that she was finally let go. It was decades too late as far as I'm concerned.
I took advantage of a person quitting their job to get away from cashiering and into the stock room. It was different work for me, unloading a truck when the bell rang. Textbook boxes are heavy!
During this time my first marriage was falling apart. I went to the doctor and left the office with a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and a prescription for Zoloft. Came home to my wife telling me she was moving out.
Was doing inventory during this time, counting hats in a third floor stockroom trying not to completely fall apart. It was rough, but I managed to get through it by stupidly throwing myself at women who were too young for me. My drinking had diminished quite a bit, and I lost 25 pounds. One side effect of the Zoloft was excessive sweating. Thank you SSRI!
A guy I worked with in the stockroom kept me a lot saner than he realized. He'd sit around and draw during downtime. He was/is a talented artist. When I left I asked to buy one of the pieces he hung on the wall. He gave it to me with his compliments.
We'd listen to Jim Rome's talk show. He was a huge baseball fan. The Cardinals, and I liked to mention the Keith Hernandez trade whenever I could. For the most part, it was an ok place to work. My coworkers were a good group.
There was no room to move forward at this job though. It was a dead end. Nepotism was its religion. I had a bizarre evaluation in which things I had done wrong months ago were mentioned, even though they were never brought up at the time. It was time to leave Even the store GM thought this process was a crock of shit. He was always fair to me, and said he gave me a fair recommendation for my next job.
After Doc died, the store went into a bit of disarray until it was bought by Barnes and Noble. The store moved from it's longtime location to where it is now. The Campus Gateway. The store sits vacant, waiting for…something. It should be torn down, eventually, and whatever goes in will be an improvement. Despite the store being in that location for many years, there is nothing architecturally or historically significant about the space.
After a year and a half, it was a relief getting out of there. The pay where I was going was much higher. I had a girlfriend who I'd marry. A new millennium was coming. Things were looking up, right?
Interviewed for a part time cashier, got the job. The pay was crap, but it was to keep my slightly busy while I applied for full time work. Have to admit I thought I was cursed as one of the store managers died of a stroke a couple of days after I was hired. I never met him. I also saw the store owner, the ubiquitous Doc in the store just once the entire time I was there. His health took a turn for the worse shortly after I started.
The head cashier, the woman who hired me, was one of the oddest people I ever worked with. A tiny Italian woman whose only version of fun was reading Vogue. About a week into my time there, she asked if I wanted to be full time. I said yes. For the first time I had health insurance.
The work was not horrible, but weird, especially with the crazy head cashier moving people around stations like chess pieces. It certainly was a busy place. One morning a well dressed man was looking around the clothing. He looked like I'd seen him before and I asked him why he looked familiar to me when I rang up his OSU sweatshirt.
"I am," he said, extending his hand "Senator Bob Kerry."
"Dude, you nailed Debra Winger when you were Governor of Nebraska!"
Ok, I did not say that. His aide sidled up to me a couple of minutes later and said the Senator was impressed that I knew who he was.
Back to the head cashier though. There are a lot of stories about her, none of them particularly flattering. She drove a lot of good people away with her crazy tactics of management. I have to admit to taking pleasure, years after I left, when I heard that she was finally let go. It was decades too late as far as I'm concerned.
I took advantage of a person quitting their job to get away from cashiering and into the stock room. It was different work for me, unloading a truck when the bell rang. Textbook boxes are heavy!
During this time my first marriage was falling apart. I went to the doctor and left the office with a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and a prescription for Zoloft. Came home to my wife telling me she was moving out.
Was doing inventory during this time, counting hats in a third floor stockroom trying not to completely fall apart. It was rough, but I managed to get through it by stupidly throwing myself at women who were too young for me. My drinking had diminished quite a bit, and I lost 25 pounds. One side effect of the Zoloft was excessive sweating. Thank you SSRI!
A guy I worked with in the stockroom kept me a lot saner than he realized. He'd sit around and draw during downtime. He was/is a talented artist. When I left I asked to buy one of the pieces he hung on the wall. He gave it to me with his compliments.
We'd listen to Jim Rome's talk show. He was a huge baseball fan. The Cardinals, and I liked to mention the Keith Hernandez trade whenever I could. For the most part, it was an ok place to work. My coworkers were a good group.
There was no room to move forward at this job though. It was a dead end. Nepotism was its religion. I had a bizarre evaluation in which things I had done wrong months ago were mentioned, even though they were never brought up at the time. It was time to leave Even the store GM thought this process was a crock of shit. He was always fair to me, and said he gave me a fair recommendation for my next job.
After Doc died, the store went into a bit of disarray until it was bought by Barnes and Noble. The store moved from it's longtime location to where it is now. The Campus Gateway. The store sits vacant, waiting for…something. It should be torn down, eventually, and whatever goes in will be an improvement. Despite the store being in that location for many years, there is nothing architecturally or historically significant about the space.
After a year and a half, it was a relief getting out of there. The pay where I was going was much higher. I had a girlfriend who I'd marry. A new millennium was coming. Things were looking up, right?
Saturday, January 8, 2011
A Gun in the First Act Goes Off in the Third
Another white male adds his name to the roll of mass killers.
Friday, February 19, 2010
The Teabaggers Have Lost Their Air Force
How many poor people do you know have a pilot's license, let alone their own plane? Very sad incident. His wife and child get to clean up his mess. Selfish man.
Watched a silent called The Crowd last night. It's hailed as one of the best silent dramas. I thought it was a very good one. Beautifully photographed and directed by King Vidor. It shows off New York City in the same light that Woody Allen did in Manhattan. The Crowd is a depiction of being a smaller than small fish in a huge pond. Being a speck in the corporate world and trying to get ahead in it. Struggling to support a family. Had it not been for an amateur and over blown performance by James Murray, the lead actor, I think The Crowd could be a contender for one of the best American films ever made, instead of merely a very good one.
Then there's the story of the death (not death) of Gordon Lightfoot yesterday. I was duped. While I did not purchase any of his music on iTunes or Amazon, I did reserve a copy of Gord's Gold from the library. Hey, If You Can Read My Mind is still a fine song, dead or alive.
Watched a silent called The Crowd last night. It's hailed as one of the best silent dramas. I thought it was a very good one. Beautifully photographed and directed by King Vidor. It shows off New York City in the same light that Woody Allen did in Manhattan. The Crowd is a depiction of being a smaller than small fish in a huge pond. Being a speck in the corporate world and trying to get ahead in it. Struggling to support a family. Had it not been for an amateur and over blown performance by James Murray, the lead actor, I think The Crowd could be a contender for one of the best American films ever made, instead of merely a very good one.
Then there's the story of the death (not death) of Gordon Lightfoot yesterday. I was duped. While I did not purchase any of his music on iTunes or Amazon, I did reserve a copy of Gord's Gold from the library. Hey, If You Can Read My Mind is still a fine song, dead or alive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)