"Atleast our boys aren't chopping heads with samurai swords"

Manhattan night out.

I had a night to kill in NY and decided to call on my pal Chuck to crash at his pad. We agreed that we should dine at lovely local place on 2nd Ave called Subway. Delicious. (Alright, just ok). After a few hours pre-gaming the evening, we ended up going to a bar named Fiddlesticks in Greenwich Village. A friend of mine from highschool met us there with two of her friends. After a few more drinks, the friend left, but one of her accompaniment stayed behind with her boyfriend and began a conversation with me that somehow got to 9/11.

Being an outsider to the NY area, I am a little hesitant to expose some of my true feelings about our culpability in that terrorist attack to New Yorkers. They all seem to know of the real story behind everything and never seem willing to offer any unknowns. We will probably never know if 9/11 was a conspiracy involving US participants, but even in the face of my dedicated resistance to anything G.W.B., there is no f'n way that he was involved. I will agree on many names for Bush, but a traitor doesn't seem to fit the bill.

This girl said over and over that the US planned 9/11. I assured her that that was impossible and surely implausible. Sure, the US needed an event to jump start our collective global consciousness and strengthen the presidency, but to assume that this want would be enacted by a vile and murderous gouge to Americans to gain support is really not credible. The cover-up would be too great and the stakes way too high. Bush's fall from grace to noose would be a sky dive. The notion of an American planned 9/11 is rediculous.

We all understand the brutality of war either from daily CNN reports from Iraq, numerous special documenteries from the war-zone or by looking at the casualties report. Lots of people are dying. Abu Ghraib warned us of the terrible repercussions of dehumanizing "enemy combatants". If someone isn’t human, it’s a lot easier to treat that someone in an inhumane manner. This tactic has been tried since the beginning. Some good examples include Greeks-Persians (BC), English-Irish (Cromwell et al), Japanese-Chinese (1937-1945), Germans-Jews (c.1936-1945), Americans-Vietnamese (1965-72) and more recently with Bosnians-Serbs in Bosnia and Hutu-Tutsi genocide in Rwanda.

It doesn’t take a history lesson, however, to realize that even against my hopes and (lost?) faith in the American government, we continue to use this technique to get innocent and naive American men and women (sometimes mere boys and girls) to torture and kill those deemed less human than them. We have all heard the derogatory slang given to Arabs and those of Middle-Eastern descent. I can’t imagine the verbal abuse given to inhabitants on an every day basis from our GIs. I want to make this clear: It is not our GIs fault. They have been fed this dehumanizing message from our commanders since before the days we invaded. Preparing for invasion of Iraq, our military elites knew the best insurance for getting our troops to kill enemy troops. It was the time-tested measure of sub-human name-calling. It seems to work every time, despite it being a broken record.

I do not agree with our strategy of treating “terror” suspects as non-soldier combatants in their own lands. There is a precedent for treatment of partisans in previous wars, though in the case of America, I would not look that way for guidance. In truth, the only real strategy that would be a success for the American treatment of detainees in Iraq is either execution or withdrawal. There is no adequate strategy in Iraq (or Afghanistan) to deal with detained “enemy combatants”.

In essence, while we aren’t chopping heads (in reality not such an unpleasant way to die, the displeasing part is to know your head is going to be chopped off!) we are taking part in the cruelties of war. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be further cruelties taking place. At first, the question had to be asked if we were there as liberators or occupiers. As I see it now, it has to be asked if we are there to hold back the tides of civil war and mass genocide.

While I can never agree with liberal zealots who stress conspiracy over conspiracy with our blundering government, I do see how the positioned few can dictate policy to the masses using fear to manipulate on our darkest emotion. Like Spielburg using children to easily influence the audience’s sentiment on the big screen, powermongers use terrorism as a convenient tool to gain popular support in their xenophobic policies.

The night could not have ended more discreetly. The four of us, lumbered into a open and nameless bar near 2nd and 82nd, had a Smithwicks or Newcastle, I can’t remember which, and talked about the old country as if we were Irish shepherd’s returning to our flock.

Another long weekend approaches

I always find it interesting when long weekends approach and you must start considering all of your possible plans. What is the weather going to be like? Where are your friends going or planning? What items do you already have going on? Is it a beach, BBQ or sports day weekend, is there going to be a party or just going to bars to entertain at night? Sometimes a relaxing weekend is best suited for an exhausting week completed behind you.

The Bad News

There just doesn't seem to be good news anywhere these days. Our boys are being blown up in Iraq while there is no end in sight. Nuclear threats are popping up again. The economy has flopped into a rut which is widening every day. Housing is unaffordable and the mortgage rates have hit the roof. Global Warming is forcing monumental changes in how society functions. Recalls of medicine, food and toys from make us wonder what is safe these days. American society is being spoiled by creepy paedophiles and our language is being watered down by Spanish speaking immigrants who refuse to give up their culture for ours. It has become so painful to watch the news anymore, we should call it simply the "Bad News".

Un-real estate

Seemingly these days I need to be angry about a certain situation before I can write about it. I am trying to take a giant leap here and write while upset, not necessarily seriously, but certainly not angry. Everyday I glance on craigslist to research real estate offerings for sale in and around Boston and everyday I am disappointed to find that buying a property is out of reach. I don’t have the money to put down to buy anything desirable that would have an immediate resale value. How does a 2-bed condo on Comm Ave in Brighton cost 250 for unit that was built in 1910?

It is undeniable that Boston is headed towards the look of its European counterparts where city living is chic and expensive compared to its suburban neighbors. The notion of the inner-city will become a forgotten term for the 40s-90s when outward expansion from cities peaked and people settled in outlying areas in droves. Now long commutes, ridiculous traffic and perhaps the ennui of suburban life is driving people to turn in their garden tools for subway passes. The effect on the real estate market in the early part of this decade was a blessing to agents everywhere.

While the boom is over, the prices remain doggedly high and relent to come down to realistic price. The question of renting vs. buying leads me to want to own, but what neighborhood can I realistically afford? You have to look at areas that will boom, the next South End or South Boston. Charlestown is already too high. Chelsea’s prices are down, but Chelsea seems to evade any investment interest. East Boston’s prices are up, but the value just doesn’t add up. Dudley Square and Mission Hill are possibilities but I don’t want to wake up with my car gone in the morning.

Savin Hill and the Washington St. part of Jamaica Plain are both realistic but will either gain momentum in the future real estate market and be worth the investment. I want to live in Washington Square in Brookline or in the Fens/MFA area but both are out of reach at the moment. Meanwhile, I will be hitting Boston.com and Craigslist for the listings!

This week in Sports

So many things to write about these past few weeks but I just couldn’t find the time. There is the Michael Vick scandal. The big Celtics are back apparently after a monster trade that sent my favorite player in Ryan Gomes to Minnesota along with others for Kevin Garnett, one of the best ever. It’s really hard to imagine a move that could have put the Boston Celtics “back-on-the-map” after 20 years like this one. Then Iraq winning the Asian Cup that had united, albeit shortly, as no other person, event, party, or occupation could. But with the heat as it is (95 degrees) all I can really ponder is a nap and virgin relaxation.

Michael Vick is a huge disappointment. Any way you try to spin torturing dogs in a backyard can never change the evil face that this scandal has cast. No matter what black/white arguments or “if Tom Brady scenarios are presented, there is no escaping the huge let-down of this athlete phenom. I don’t even like dogs, but torturing animals and the methods used at the Vick estate for their removal are inhuman.

Another argument is that he did not know what was going on there, he is rarely even there. Can anyone really buy that excuse and be a sane person? Of course you know if there are dog-fighting facilities on your property. So either he was directly involved or had the intimate knowledge of what was going on. So let’s throw that one out.

Now here comes the black athlete excuse. I have to admit, a message from the NAACP was unexpected, and irresponsible. If this was a white athlete (Manning or Brady perhaps) the same shock and disappointment would follow. In my opinion the victim is not Vick or Atlanta fans, but caged animals that have no NAACP to back them up, or give them voice. No, the black athlete excuse has been overused and I think most of us, and I don’t speak for a certain race or ethnicity but for Americans, has been used up in this regard. Vick isn’t victimized by racist media or a vast conspiracy to bury the black athlete. This is his own poor judgment and misdoing and should stand to be punished if found guilty.

I am not convicting here before the trial, I am merely going by what facts have been released about the indictment. With the facts, it is hard for a reasonable person to deny the shadow of culpability on Vick. But please, stop making this a black/white issue. And if an argument is brought up that torturing dogs is a cultural difference then even more reason to bridge the cultural gap and remove this cultural behavior from America. There is simply no place for the torturing of any animals here.
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I am not a greedy sports fan. The departure of Ryan Gomes from the Celtics ends a personal era shared by a few other New Englanders. I “discovered” Ryan in his freshman year score 18 points against a nobody Southern Connecticut State College. Since that night at the Dunk, he has been my favorite player. I couldn’t have been more excited seeing him drafted by my hometown team and develop as an NBA player. So when I heard the trade to Minnesota I couldn’t help but dislike it. Not because we aren’t now a legitimate contender with the addition of one great player…of course I want the Celtics to be successful, but I lose the one motivation that really made me watch the Celtics. Here it is: I would rather lose more than we win, but have Gomes, than win more than we lose without (and still not win a championship).
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And now to the Iraq National Team’s victory over Saudi Arabia to win the Asian Cup.
The victory gave Iraqis something to cheer for, some hope and a bond of unity during a time of such despair. But good things sometimes don’t last long as the bombs were exploding again in no time. The outpouring of celebrations for their national victory proves that Iraqis want their country to succeed.

Cruising in NYC

It always feels like a free-for-all driving in New York. Whether it's the Henry Hudson (9A), the Cross Bronx, the infamous BQE or the LIE, and forget about the Long Island parkways, it always feels like a mad dash for the goal line, a race to an unending finish or something from an improbable action film where the hero comes so close but never quite gets rear-ended or makes a wrong move and puts the nose of his car into a wall. That is until today, where I was driving just over on the New Jersey Pike, dreaming about the Sopranos theme song looking at the industry of Perth Amboy or whatever is over there west of the Hudson and out of nowhere, Wham... ok it wasn't a truck or a car that hit me. A rock the size of a golfball flipped up into the air from atop a small truck and smashed a small indentation into my windshield, breaking the glass and starting the dreaded spiderweb. My surprise, fear and eventual anger almost got the better of me, but I regained composure and leveled the car back in my lane and drove on. Everytime I have driven in NYC, I fear the worst and this time, although not the worst, it was certainly an inconvenience. Broken windshield in all, I lugged into my location and wiped it from my mind and dove into work.

Life is elusive

I came dangerously close to receding again in the shoadows this friday night but I decided to pull myself out of it and convince my brother and his girlfriend to go to a local bar overlooking the waterfront of RI. We had a few Sam Summers or Mojitos, chatted quietly at a plastic table and then decided mutually that our time would be better spent somewhere else, perhaps home. This is not before the crowds of moron meat-heads and chicken-heads invaded the bar and polluted the sounds of pleasant sea breeze and gentle waves crushing the rocks at the seashore with banter of the brainless, worthless drivel. And I know, because I was trying to listen. I was trying to listen to what these obnoxious fools could possibly be spewing besides their self-indulging aura.com

When leaving, my brother's girlfriend said to me, "This is really not my crowd."
I nodded and thought as I gazed back towards all the patrons gathered on the rooftop deck and could recall the few times I frequented this place as a college student and as a recent grad combing the ranks for potentials. And I realized that this wasn't my crowd anymore either. Image isn't everything.

July 4 on a Wednesday

Independence Day is synonymous with BBQ, cookouts, outdoor drinking, lawn sports and time off. When we get Independence Day on a Wednesday you get a day off in the middle of the week, hardly a relaxing bloc of days. Think about it. If the 4th falls on a Monday or Tuesday you get a long weekend that ends with a day of sun, food and drink with the festivities thrown in. If it falls on a Thursday or Friday the weekend is kicked off by a full day of party and then the rest of the weekend to duplicate. With a wednesday, its not worth expanding either weekend by taking two days off, before or after and therefore, the 4th just sits alone, with only the weight of one measley day to celebrate our nations' founding. Have fun and remember to call a cab if you have too much because the boss may not look kindly to an unplanned vacation day by reason of the ol' slammer.

Business etiquette - When does personal become private?

There is an article in today (6/26/07) in The Wall Street Journal about the guy in the office or workplace that nobody knows what he/she "does" or anything about them. Their workspace is bland, nothing is on the walls, there is no picture of a girlfriend, wife or family and no sports pennants hang in view. The non-personal worker. People in the office do not know about this person's private life because he/she chooses not to ingratiate him/herself into the workplace. They stay away from everybody else when they can, i.e. reading in the stairwell, napping during lunch break or even just deflecting or avoiding inquisition into their personal details.

The other side, in my opinion is far worse. I don't want to hear of your failing relationship, your sick brother or that painfully unfunny joke. I hate to shoot the shit with colleagues that know next to nothing about which they proclaim intimate knowledge. Your baby is not cute and I don't really want to catch a lame drink and talk more about work because you are too uninteresting to talk about anything else. Talking about work is personal for these people. And disguising the undying pretense of company loyalty is nauseating. Say what you mean! People are not made to be happy slaving away making money for big shots. So be honest and stop telling me about how early and late you arrive and leave on friday before a long weekend. Gimme a f'n break.

In a work environment, it is easy to work with colleagues that you get along with but it is undeniably harder to get work done when you get along too well (unless you work in a world where the work you do is fun and then this blog topic wouldnt appeal to you because work must be awesome! Moving on...). I keep non-work to myself and usually work away from friends and family. I don't like to talk about my wife (don't have one), my family or my weekend binge with anyone to judge my lifestyle unacceptable for the company standard. And what is that? Why should the company have any control over my image after I leave the office? Well, they do, and that's a fact. So I keep it away. And now an article chastises those of us that don't put our personal identities out there for colleagues to judge? And I am wrong? No way. Companies need to learn to respect and protect employee's personal identities in the workplace without using their wish for privacy as an excuse for denying promotions. Since when did leaving your personal life, harm rather than help your standing in the office?