Catching up with life and other things~~~

Ohhh sweet things I’ve been talking so much about family, dysfunctional one at that that I’ve neglected to give my thoughts and assessments about things in my area of the world. (Pitiful Meeu) Sorry sweet things,


I had the most enjoyable weekend, early in the evening I traveled by BART (yes sweet things, the infamous BART) to San Francisco for their Chinese New Years Parade, one of my co-workers has a friend who is a Lion Dancer, had to cheer them on.

It was cold but there was so many people bunched together that it cut the chill down, as parades go, its nothing like the Rose Parade, or Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade that signals the Xmas shopping season with the arrival of Mr. Claus himself (or his clone) to encourage people to buy.

It’s a quaint, community affair, even in old China town you will hear fire cracker’s exploding, and see Lion dancers who come to chase away the evil spirits and bring in good luck, the parade ended with the dragon wending its way down the street in a complicated serpentine pattern follow a red and gold ball, then the finale, a float of fireworks, that leaped up into the chilly night sky with loud bangs and booms, followed by the quick snapping and cracking of smaller firecrackers making their final statement to the gods of good fortune.


My friend Yoshi and I turned to walk back to China Town as the crowd dispersed, as we walked a young person passed us quickly pushing into our hands red envelopes, quickly moving off calling out “Gun Hey Fat Choy” as he quickly trotted down the street, we saw him do it to several other people as well.


Yoshi said “don’t open it here, let’s get to my Mother’s house”, then she whispered into my ear “It might have dope” Ohhhhh Growl, just what I didn’t need, a criminal record to start the new year.

It was very crowded getting back to her Mother's home, We finally arrived and I gave to Yoshi’s Grandmother a box of Miss Sees’ candies, all chocolate covered cherries, which I knew she was very fond of, she watched the parade on Television and we told her what it was like on the street.


In our efforts to get home we had forgotten about the red envelopes, until I happened to go into my pocket and pulled it out. We told Yoshi's mother and Grandmother about what the young man did, and what we hoped was not in the envelopes, but when we opened them it was something totally different, it was a small Buddha carved out of indifferent jade, but none the less jade and the top of the Buddha had a gold metal loop which heavy red thread was strung through designed to be hung from some place.

It was quite charming, we were told by Yoshi's Grandma that it was meant for luck. What a lovely way to start the Chinese New Year, with good friends,a warm loving place and a good luck charm. I have it now on my desk at work, sitting on top of the red envelope like a cup on a place mat. A lovely memory to keep.


The rains returned the next day and they will continue through the week, I can only hope that a good snow pack is created, this state does not need another drought. But with the rains have come a biting chill, there is threats that it could get down to the low 30's, which for anyone in the Mid-west or northern states is considered mild.

Down in Australia they are suffering fire storms, killing people (the toll up to 170), wiping out whole townships, people in fear for the loss of their loved ones, and what makes it so horrible is that it is possible that quite a number of the 400 fires may have been arson. (Growl)

What insane person would do something like that, ooohhhh sweet things I forget there are mentally ill people that get their kicks out of something so horrendous as that, I hope they find them and then if they get so excited about fire then let the arsonists burn---vicious?? Of course it is, but then I never said that I could be kind to criminals.

And speaking of criminals, the say that over 10,000 criminals are going to be released from our California prisons because of overcrowded conditions. Overcrowded Conditions!!! If you do the crime you do the time, you lose any right to comfort, or cossetting. Why not outsource them to the Sheriff of Maricopa County, now that is a man I could like, he lets prisoners know that being in jail is not a country club, no cossetting,you are criminals so suck it up and deal. Hot? of course hot, Cold? of course cold. Don't expect any sympathy. The only thing you have a right to is legal counsel and due process. But once clearly proven that you have done the crime, then do the time, no cushy situation, make little rocks out of big rocks!! (Roar!)


John Updike, author, is dead, his novels and short stores focused and exposed an undercurrent of ambivalence and disappointment in small-town middle class American, lung cancer at age 76, I have a couple of his books on my shelf, now I need to get around to finish reading them. Hmmmm

And speaking of reading, a friend of mine who is in a position to get advance sale copies of books, gave me several and asked my opinion on them---I must confess sweet things I couldn’t put two of them down (Rowl, I looove books like that), I’m speaking of “Spade and Archer” by Joe Gores which is a pre-quell to “the Maltese falcon” Gores did such an excellent job, creating a back story for Sam Spade and all the characters we became familiar with, I could even sense and feel the places he described.


Another is “Light and Shadow” by Johnathan Rabb, a murder mystery that occurred in Berlin some 10 years after World War I and brings in Fritz Lang and the UFA studios, I loved envisioning the scenes like a noir film. But you need to read an earlier work of his “Rosa” to get a better back story on the detective, but even without that it’s still a most intriguing mystery to read.

And yes I know they are advance copies with some errors and things to be added, but it’s the story I desire. (purrr)


Now out there in the world~~~~

The depressing news that 60,000 jobs lost in a single day keeps echoing down the streets of San Francisco…. Some young acquaintances of mine, working part time at Circuit City now unemployed and scrambling have taken the hit~~~


Let’s see:

Circuit city 34,000 100%
Caterpillar 20,000 18%
Pfizer 19,000 15%
Home Depot 7,000 2.0%
Microsoft 5,000 5.5 %
Boeing 4,500 2.8 % and on and on.


I fully believe that even 2009 is not going to be too good either but I’m of the opinion that by the end of this year we will start to see the beginning of a turn around, a lot of good that will do for those who’ve lost their jobs, their homes, and maybe living out on the street. (Snarl)

But there are some families that are moving back in with Mom and Dad, we are going back to the rural way of living, pulling all resources together, no wonder you had to have 10 to 15 room houses back then with 3 or 4 families living together. Hmmm but is it too much togetherness.


And now the Vatican shifts into damage control in regards to its statements about the Holocaust and its attempt at the revival of traditionalism, in this world of instability such a revival may happen, but the pope is not making some people very happy, pooh! You can’t please everyone.

Switzerland is voting whether or not to stop free passage across it’s borders, Hmmm in this day and age that maybe a wise move but it does emphasize the fear of xenophobia especially now that times are hard, the fear that “this foreigner” is stealing my job, my income, my life.


Finally the idiots in Washington D.C. are coming around to voting on the stimulus packet, which some people feel is not a good thing, that it won’t make a difference, even if it doesn’t it will at least show that the ‘government’ is trying to do something, to give people some sort of ‘carrot’ of hope, it’s psychological, and if it turns into the beginnings of some sort of physical reality it’s better than nothing at all.

And Obama is still flogging it, being the 'good cop', is Nancy Pelosi going to be bad cop? Now we all know why~~~In two years there will be a mid-term election and if those congressmen and Senators (Democrats) do not make some compromises, people will vote Republican---and we all know that Obama does not want to face a predominate Republican Congress, now does he. Hmmmm?


The fools at the state capital are not much better; I am so tired of “Da Arnold’ being a form of ‘Oreo cookie’ republican on the outside and a twisted democrat on the inside, his furloughing people is not a good move, and only increases the economic fear even more, I’ve seen too many small businesses close up, the government in California is NOT encouraging businesses to come to California, they are leaving, and it’s not because of the fear of earthquakes, California is becoming Berkeley on a large scale. (Snarl).

One of my friends’ son is going to join the Navy, competition for scholarships is tough, jobs are non-existent, joining the Navy seems to be the best choice, he loves the sea anyway. He can get schooling, college credits, cash, it’s not perfect, but it’s the only thing left for him. At first he was thinking of the Marines—not army---but his Dad was in the Navy, so he can relate---well I’ve often said about Marines and Navy men, you can take them out of it, but its never taken out of them. (Merowl)


It seems that the stock market has gone up a measly 5% on all 4 markets,Dow, S & P, NASDAQ and Barron’s 400 but this is going to be a very tricky thing, sweet things if you want to get a bit of an assessment about this read Kopin Tan’s column in Barron’s Feb 9, 2009 page M3, it’s far more than I can explain here. But look at the 4 charts that accompany it, as you can see we took the “dive” across the board at the end of September close to when the housing market crashed, and it just‘bumped’ along, this is going to be one very long, long climb, or a very bumpy ride.

And finally that doctor that implanted those 8 embryos is now going to be investigated for medical ethics, it's only the start sweet things, only the start.


On a final note before I close, I've been asked about the type of church that I spent my early life in, well sweet things I will have to save that for another posting.

I can only go down memory lane for so long and then it can become painful, oohhh I have taken my demons out and they don't have any hold on me, but I want to stay with the enjoyment of life for a few days, before I go down that dark road again.

The full moon hides its face from me tonight, the clouds scuttle over the night sky, and I know the morning will be gray, cold and wet with rain, but this grayness I can accept, if it brings the goodness of rain with it.

My Cd is playing it's final song before I settle down to sleep. (Sarah Brightman singing "Think of Me" from 'Phantom of the Opera') I will think on things and on friends as I drift off to sleep.

Think of "sweet things" for me my darlings as I will for you.