Time for Updates

Time for some updates of past blogs:

Afghanistan (9/22/09 http://nosocksneededanymore.blogspot.com/2009/09/deja-vu-afghanistan.html): Tonight, as President Obama explains his new Afghanistan strategy, it’s important to remember the lessons of history—guns and butter didn’t work for LBJ. It won’t work for Obama. Nixon promised a plan to get us out of Vietnam with honor. He sent more youth to their death than LBJ. Tens of thousands were killed and more were maimed, physically and emotionally. We won’t lose as many bodies and minds in Afghanistan, but the soul of our nation will be ripped apart again at a time when we must invest more in our own country and its people. We cannot win in Afghanistan. We cannot achieve anything close to our goals. Politically, Obama will never do enough to appease the war hawks.

Mary Travers (9/17/09 http://nosocksneededanymore.blogspot.com/2009/09/goodbye-mary.html): How poignant that the day before Obama formally announces his war strategy, our local PBS station, Channel 13, aired a 2003 retrospective on Peter, Paul and Mary as part of its fundraising drive. It displayed the powerful force music possesses to shape and expand the national, and international, dialogue on the important issues of our time. Peter, Paul and Mary were troubadours for justice, equality, peace, freedom, love. The program was called, “Peter, Paul and Mary, Carry It On, A Musical Legacy.” Catch it as a rerun or when it’s broadcast on your local PBS affiliate (next time on Channel 13 is 1 am, Wednesday, 12/2). It will, to paraphrase a Pete Seeger lyric popularized by the trio, leave you wondering,
Where have all the singers gone?
Long time passing,
Where have all the singers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the singers gone?
Become bankers everyone
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Derek Jeter (9/12/09 http://nosocksneededanymore.blogspot.com/2009/09/yankees-moment.html): In the year in which he surpassed Lou Gehrig as the most prolific hitter in Yankees history, my favorite Yankee earned his fifth World Series ring, his fourth Gold Glove, his second Hank Aaron award as the top hitter of the American League, and his fourth Silver Slugger Award as the best offensive shortstop in the American League. He was the recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award for excellence on and off the field, and yesterday was named Sports Illustrated's sportsman of the year, becoming the first member of the New York Yankees to win the award. All that is worthy of a Jeter fist pump!

Staff cutbacks (11/2/09 http://nosocksneededanymore.blogspot.com/2009/11/standing-by-helpless.html): They continue at my former employer. Yesterday someone I thought was among the most secure because of his technical skills in producing print publications was let go. Publishing is rapidly becoming a form of communication I do not recognize. I’m not alone. Here’s David Carr’s take from the NY Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/business/media/30carr.html?_r=1&sq=carr&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=2&adxnnlx=1259665204-g3HFGAVfbU9Do8hm/2GUdA.

Cleveland (10/2/09 http://nosocksneededanymore.blogspot.com/2009/10/whos-in-control.html): Never heard back from them. Oh well, their football team is doing worse than the Giants, which is depressing in its own right.

Housewife’s Hand (9/10/09 http://nosocksneededanymore.blogspot.com/2009/09/housewifes-hand.html): Still a problem, but not as bad as before.

Free Tuesday movies (9/8/09 http://nosocksneededanymore.blogspot.com/2009/09/sockless-in-new-york.html): I don’t see too many free movies on Tuesdays anymore. The Clearview Cinemas cut back on matinees after kids went back to school in September. And frankly, there haven’t been too many films worth seeing, even if they’re free. I’d rather watch old movies DVR’ed from Turner Classic Movies. Yesterday I watched a taut film noir from 1951, Fourteen Hours, starring Paul Douglas and a young Richard Basehart. After you’ve seen the movie, check out the Wikipedia entry for some interesting background details, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Hours.

My grandfather name (11/20/09 http://nosocksneededanymore.blogspot.com/2009/11/whats-in-name-part-ii.html): No word on what Finley will call me. I’ll let you know when the now two-week-old makes up his mind.

Finally, and I’m sure you’re grateful for that, though it’s getting chillier, I’m still going sockless. I hate not wearing socks. But it remains a life statement, an attitude that validates my freedom from the pressures so many of you are under. I wish you all the opportunity, of your own choosing, to go sockless.