by

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 314

Embed from Getty Images

I haven’t done an OITS since my return from vacation, so it’s about time.

Now that vacation is over, the fall means returning to volunteering with English Second Language adults, ushering at plays, and ballroom dancing with seniors and with adults with Down Syndrome … plus playing handbells.

Speaking of handbells, here’s the piece we’re playing this weekend. Click to watch and listen.

It’s been another good season for Dancing with the Stars. Amazing how that show keeps chugging along. They are down to the final 6: two whose time it is to go, and 4 worthy of making the final 3.

Italians love picking their own mushrooms.
italianmushroomscomp

I’ve been spending significant time researching and writing on my religion and science project. I must say that it has been quite the learning journey, and one that may lead to self-publishing.

All of us know that there is more to a person we know than we think. Rich works at the golf course, but he’s in carts. This weekend he is officiating his last high school football game … after 40 years! Impressive!

Some may be wondering about the next musical. The ideas are in my head, but it is important for me to be as available as possible during musicals. Therefore, no announcement is in the near future.

Embed from Getty Images

Hooray … presumably, the U.S. presidential election will be over soon! Regardless of the outcome, no more campaign commercials on Wednesday … actually Tuesday evening. Woo hoo!!!

This past Friday I waited in the doctor’s office, where a cable news channel is always on. During the 90 minutes I waited, the election was the only topic covered. Isn’t anything else happening in this country and the world?

Regardless if I agree or disagree with the statement, I enjoyed this comment: Americans are facing a choice between a crook and a creep.

From the warped side of the political spectrum, read this … and this clown is my state senator.

Regardless of the final outcome for the presidency, I’m hoping another four years of divided government. That is, the White House, control of the Senate, and control of the House of Representatives is not controlled by one party. Divided government has been ineffective and inefficient the past 6 years. However, in the current political climate, divided government prevents one party shoving their preferences down everyone’s throat.

President Obama’s Five Faults of the Week
Earthquakes in Italy
Donald Trump’s popularity
The rotten season of my favorite football teams (2 college and 1 pro)
Too many campaign commercials on television
Samsung’s problems with the Galaxy 7 and washing machines

Embed from Getty Images

To lead you into this week’s dose of satirical headlines, The Onion lists the most-ignored issues in the US Presidential campaign.

Weekly Headlines from The Onion (combos welcome)
Man who stopped dieting already seeing results
Grandmother doesn’t care for new priest
Pope Francis hosts feathered serpent god as part of deity exchange program
Each member of family on edge as vacation has gone without one blowout fight
Non-dominant hand completely botches nail clipping job
Anthropologists discover isolated tribe of joyful Americans living in remote village untouched by 2016 election

Interesting Reads
A Medal of Honor story
A story about drilling holes in skulls
Chinese glass walkway
Some of the world’s most boring jobs
History of drywall
The religious reacting to medical advances
An interactive: Henry Hudson’s travels
(Photos) National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Contest

For your weekend, here’s the latest from The Piano Guys. Enjoy the trip! Hope all is well with you, and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

66 thoughts on “Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 314”

  1. aFa, Fantastic….! I’ve been there, Petra and it is truly one of the most beautiful places on this planet. It is awe inspiring what man has built and carved from stone…centuries ago. So many memories. Good ones. Thank you for the Saturday Morning Piano Musical Memories. XXORRR

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Raye,
      Oh my … you are the early riser. … so Good Morning, Portland! Many thanks for sharing your thoughts about your visit to Petra. You may be the first person I’ve encountered who has visited this treasure.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. A divided government filled with the two year olds who now people the congress is not doing its job. They don’t understand that compromise is the key. Until we get rid of this batch of obstructionists, nothing will get done.

    Like

    Reply

  4. The topic of “religious” people’s reacting to medical advances caught my eye, but the article was a disappointment….a piece of fluff, full of presumptions, assumptions, and self-contradictions about religion, science, and worst of all, about people.
    After reading that I was put in a better mood by the loveliness of the piano guys, as always.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. I don’t even live there and I can’t wait for the election to be over! Egads…
    Love the Piano Guys (seriously, why The Piano Guys when there is one piano and one fabulous cello? Love the Sheherezade into Indiana Jones piece…
    Sigh. Another place to add to my ever-expanding list…

    Like

    Reply

  6. This election is between a crook and a creep, and Hillary Clinton.
    And divided government is great when both parties are interested in what’s best for the country, not what’s best for the party. Just to give a concrete example, both parties would probably support spending on infrastructure repairs or veterans benefits, but since the Republicans don’t want a Democratic White House to get the credit for these laws, they’ll vote against it.

    Like

    Reply

    • X,
      One thing divided government does is keep the other party in check. I’m not for the obstructionist methodology favored by GOP in recent years …. but given the alternative in this climate of one party implementing without a check, I’ll take the stalemate.

      Again … I don’t trust Mrs. Clinton, but of the two major candidates, she gets my X … but, it’s more of a 20% for her and 80% against The Donald.

      Like

      Reply

  7. I came across a better spin on the crook vs creep idea… “If America was Gotham, Trump would be the Joker and Hillary would be Penguin”. Again, not a perfect analogy, but I enjoyed it regardless!

    Like

    Reply

    • Alisha,
      Neither analogy is perfect … but worth the laugh. For instance, HC came to Cincinnati on Halloween, so I friend of mine talked about the witch coming to town to celebrate. Although he’s a partisan hack, I laughed because it was a good line.

      Like

      Reply

    • Colline,
      Oh yes … the whole world is not only watching, they are wondering how it could be so close. While in Italy, many there wanted to talk about it … and we wanted to get away from the noise … and other than questions, we did.

      Like

      Reply

    • Greatsby,
      No doubt about that … My wife and I were talking tonight about if we would know the results before bedtime on Monday. Personally, I hope I never see another election like this one! … and yes, discussions about 2020 will start Wednesday … and that’s sad.

      Like

      Reply

  10. I can’t wait for the election to be over. And you know who I’m voting for–and it’s not for hate!

    As for the Piano Guys, I’m never going to be able to hear Scheherazade without thinking of Indiana Jones. 🙂 I saw something about one of the Piano Guys has a daughter who is missing? I think she was out hiking and disappeared.

    Like

    Reply

    • I’m saving my vote for Tuesday (… a like the traditional day) … and look forward to normal ads on television from Tuesday night forward!

      Thanks for the info about the missing daughter. I didn’t know … horrible … just searched the news, and no good news yet.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. Isn’t it incredible the way fall seems to be filled with a thousand things to do?
    I’m sure the musicals will begin shortly when things slow down. I will be waiting with bated breath. 😬
    Dancing with the Stars hasn’t been as good as in years past. I think the dancers are getting a bit bored with it all. There seems to be a greater number of arguments between them and their partners.There are a few that should have been gone by now. I haven’t decided who should win yet. Soon …
    I’m hoping my phone-constantly-ringing headache will be gone by Tuesday night. I’m with you … enough already. I voted early. Florida is supposed to have long lines this time. I wait for no one; especially, in this election.
    Have a relaxing Sunday ….
    Isadora 😎

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Isadora,
      Our phone rings a lot too … but a toast to caller ID!

      Interesting thought about the DWTD pros. That’s tough work, as well as being psychologists on the journey. Meanwhile, our air is starting to get a fall chill.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. As usual, Frank, I find your OITS posts informative and thought-provoking. I see sense in your view of divided government, but only if the different pieces are rational. If a piece is incapable of compromise, then it doesn’t fly. Another thought about the election: Divided government may prevent extremes of legislative action but it can’t prevent an over-sensitive and immature executive ordering an irrational military action. Not in the nuclear age. I’m with Elyse.

    The best “interesting read” for me was the piece about “boring jobs.” One might think that the world would have progressed to more creative and fulfilling jobs since the beginning of the industrial revolution but, based on the samples given, we probably haven’t. In civilized societies, labor (loosely defined) is still the only basis for the distribution of wealth. I read recently that suicides are becoming more common in Japanese culture where many jobs entail more than 80 hours per week.

    When I was a teen ager I was hired by a cemetery company to answer the phone and tally the sales of plots by the various salesmen in the evenings. I lasted a month or so. It was a seedy office populated by rather seedy personnel. The reps would sometimes gather for poker, smoking, drinking and bawdy jokes. It was part of my education.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Jim,
      I disagree with both you and Elyse. After all, she was only willing to accept one-party-rules-all situation if and only if her (and your) party was the one in power …. whereas I show no party favoritism. On the other hand, divided government (in my view) also has the responsibility of finding solutions for the good of all … and that is something that clearly the GOP has not done … but through all of their noise, I’m not convinced of a willingness to work toward common ground is truly within the Democratic party. After all, they have been smart enough to stay (comparatively) quiet.

      Thanks for sharing your boring job situation from days gone by. Not long ago I had a part-time job that had one duty … one …. so if I wasn’t doing it, I was bored silly.

      Like

      Reply

  14. Nice to read an OITS! My fave part are those insanely giant mushrooms. Hmm, maybe the politicians could use them for stuffing ______ _____ _____ ______ (fill in one or all blank(s).
    😀 Just being cheeky.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. One thing I can say for California, we don’t have many political ads. But that doesn’t mean I’m any less fatigued than anyone else with all the political noise. I have run the entire spectrum of emotions over the past several months, and I think I’m settling into a mild depression. Music helps…so thank you for the delightful Piano Guys. They helped balance my blood pressure after I read the link John Becker’s love for Trump. Clown indeed!

    I’m looking forward to what you may have to further share re: science and religion!

    Like

    Reply

    • Debra,
      Being a swing state, the ads are relentless … and then toss in the commercials for local and state ads. Simply way too many!!!! … Then again, I recall being in California in 2008 a few days before Election Day … and the lack of commercials surprised me!,… And my area has many John Becker types – after all, he’ll get re-elected. 😦

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  20. OITS returns, life resumes.

    On boring jobs and the history of drywall, I plastic wrapped fruit for a summer at a Kroger Store in Goshen, Indiana, and loved it. Presently I’m the facilities coordinator at my circa 1917 church in Oakley, where structural repairs allow me to view the fascinating history behind the development of drywall.

    If you offered me divided government upon waking up on Wed., Nov. 9, I’d take it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Tim,
      I didn’t know what your plastic wrapping experience! … but care for a 1917 building can’t be easy.

      On divided government, you seem to be one of the few partisans understanding my point.

      Like

      Reply

  23. I thought at one time back in the day political ads “shut off” once the polls opened but here I am in the afternoon still hearing the same negative nonsense on my radio as Election Day is almost halfway underway. Ugh. Anyway…while I have found an occasional mushroom in the yard during the past year none of them remotely approached the girth of those babies in that picture. Then again I hope those are the adult mushrooms because if they were newborns…I’d hate to see the fully-developed ones!

    Like

    Reply

    • Bruce,
      Ouch on the midday ads! I wasn’t home much of the day, thus was able to avoid the crap … then again, I don’t know if any ads were playing. Regarding those mushrooms … it’s quite the pic, even though I wonder about their authenticity … but still fun to see.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Comment with respect.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.