Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 290

Happy Valentine’s Day Weekend!

My initial handbell ring went fine. In April, the choir will be part of a 650-member mass choir at a regional event. That would be something interesting for the audience.

Fortunately, I caught the film Journey to Space at the local Omnimax theater before it left. Simply wonderfully done and a must for all space lovers. Narrated by Patrick Stewart, the film links the Space Shuttle program to the Orion project, the NASA project designed to carry humans to Mars. Here’s a link to the schedule of theaters in both the USA and International locations, plus the trailer is below.

Our church wine group (last weekend) had a gathering, which included my presentation about the similarities and differences of Syrah, Sirah, and Shiraz. Should I turn it into a post?

Two weeks in a row of limited visits to your blogs bothers me. Thanks for your patience.

Act 2 of Colors: The Musical featuring Red provided quite the variety of songs. Although behind with my comments on that post, 😦 I’ll announce the next act’s theme and date in the next OITS, but the news will first appear on the Hear Ye page (hopefully over the weekend).

There will be an Explore this weekend about a person, place, or thing. I can say that it goes well with last week’s trip to Norway.

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Isn’t this a great image to lead into the political section?

Good news – Iowa and New Hampshire votes are done. Bad news – they are only 4% of the delegate count. South Carolina is next up – and oh my – it’s a state with a nasty reputation.

For those who may be wondering, nope – I don’t feel the Bern – but that’s a good, short slogan.

All candidates are scripted. On the other hand, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is scripted among the scripted. Although Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) has left the race, I applaud the way he called out Sen. Rubio about his scripted nature – of which, Sen. Rubio politely did all he could to support the governor’s point.

Although (my) Governor John Kasich (R-OH) finished second in the New Hampshire primary, does he have the infrastructure and support to make it to the Ohio Primary (March 15th)? Time will tell. Although I applaud his big-boy-in-the-room approach, my support for his candidacy remains tepid.

A friend of mine boasts about a conservative columnist who predicted Donald Trump (R-NY) won’t win any primary. Nothing like the first primary to prove that pundit wrong. The longer the Republican field stays large, the better the chance The Bloviator has at winning the nomination. Meanwhile, I stay the course pointing to the pivotal primary dates of March 1st (Republicans) and March 15th (Democrats).

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To lead you into your weekly dose of satire, The Onion explains the growth of ISIS. 

Weekly Headlines from The Onion (combos welcome)
Olay introduces new line of pre-moisturized skin
High school nurse getting pretty good at spotting morning sickness
Middle-aged man in locker room puts shirt on before underwear
Binge eater doesn’t remember going to second KFC
Evolution textbook hidden under mattress
Obama resigns from presidency after Michelle lands dream job in Seattle

Interesting Reads
President for 31 days
Chocolate
Eyes and natural selection
A revolution of mathematical proportions
Ways to keep yourself going (Thanks, Tim)
Mosquitoes resisting malaria
The gift of Lent
(Photos) The Silent Forest

Here’s a 2-fer to sent you into the weekend – a leftover from Act 2 and one that made me think of Elyse. Have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 99

Announcements

• A post this weekend
• The next edition of OITS will be #100
• A 40K hits passed without celebration
• Friend A Frank Angle on Facebook

On Politics
Republicans asking for the resignation of Rep. Weiner (D-NY) is as pathetic as the congressman’s actions. If you can’t practice what you preach for everyone, stay quiet. Meanwhile, given the information at this time, it’s a matter of his constituents.

At the time of the death of Osama bin Laden, political pundits were proclaiming a 2012 lock for President Obama. I said (at the time) the pundits were out of touch, and the current polls are already validating my position.

I listened to Tim Pawlenty’s (R-MN) recent policy speech from Chicago. Two points: he’s boring and although he caught my attention on some points, he had a difficult time convincing me.

Politico wonders if there will be a Bachmann-Palin cat fight.

Another week goes by without a jobs bill from House. To be precise, 5+ months and counting. To quote Speaker Boehner (R-OH), “Where are the jobs?”

My governor, John Kasich (R-OH) continues to delay implementing the people’s vote – building casinos in the state.

Two good reads about the political football known as the debt ceiling debate

• LA Times
• Peggy Noonan

A great quote from Beaglezmom: You can believe in a candidate and still admit they made a mistake. You can support a leader and still call them on a lapse of judgment. You can acknowledge disappointment, and still support a person, idea or party. Our country needs voters who are a lot more real, and a lot less “star struck.”

On the Potpourri
Aging brings interesting problems. For instance, this week I received a cortisone shot in my shoulder. For what you ask? I strained my rotator cuff when putting on a sweatshirt this winter. Physical therapy starts soon. For those that don’t know, rotator cuff refers to the area where several shoulder muscles and tendons connect to the shoulder blade and upper arm bone.

It looks like the NFL labor situation means fewer losses for the Bengals!

Bill Tammeus provides this short post about Muslims fighting terrorism.

I also appreciate this quote from a different post from Bill: The struggle for peace — and the routine failure to achieve it — is an ancient story.

See the winners of the photo contest from The World at Night.

Congratulations and good luck to a classy lady, Today show host Meredith Vieira. Once I got to know her personality, I could appreciate her work. Enjoy her highlights video.

On a sad note, Al has taken down his 2012 blog. My interactions with him have always been enlightening, positive, and in good spirit – thus I will miss him space. On the plus side, I am grateful for his genuine presence. A tip of the hat to you Al. Best wishes to you and selfishly, I hope you make your presence known through visits.

Thanks Moe for taking me back to junior high and this interesting 1966 look at future computers. Have a safe weekend. You come back now.

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 81

On Thinking About
Thoughts and prayers to those in Cincinnati, Arkansas as they recover from the New Years’ Eve tornado. Cincinnati is a small town west of Fayetteville near the Oklahoma border.

Thoughts and prayers to those dealing with any passing during the holidays, and those who found the holidays difficult because someone wasn’t around for the first time.

Speaking of Arkansas, and on a lighter night, comedian commentator Lee Camp provides this interesting graph about the sudden bird kills in Arkansas.

On the Ohio Governor
Ohio’s newly-elected governor John Kasich decided to live at home instead of the governor mansion. I wonder the following: What upgrades will his home get from the state? How much travel allowance will he get? What other finances are involved? What will he give back after leaving office? Personally, it is his right to live at home, but only by foregoing any taxpayer assistance.

On the New Speaker
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who represents the district adjacent to mine, is the first Speaker of the House from our area since Nicholas Longworth (1925). Did anyone notice that with all the rhetoric of the recent lame duck session, Mr. Boehner was very quiet?

On the other hand, why did Speaker Boehner leave the chamber during the reading of the Constitution to hold a news conference?

And in case you missed this one from Jimmy Kimmel.

On the Debt Ceiling
Battles over the debt ceiling have begun. While Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) wants to broker with Social Security, conservative columnist George Will provides this unexpected perspective about the debt ceiling.

On Health Care Reform Repeal
Even before their first session, House Republicans are vowing to fight for the repeal of the Health Care bill. They must beware of reading the tea leaves of national polls because just because a majority may not like the current bill, that doesn’t necessarily mean the public wants a repeal. See this past post from May 2010.

On some Random Notes from the Holidays

• The Kennedy Center Honors television special was awesome entertainment and tribute. Tune in next year.
• In an evening with another couple, we enjoyed two wonderful wines: Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel, Sonoma County (2006) and Ridge California Buchignani Ranch (2004). Both are not pure zin, but are great examples of zinfandel blends from two well-known zin producers. I purchased the Ridge at the vineyard several years ago, so I don’t you can find it at the store, but try another Ridge. If you can’t find the 2006 Ravenswood, here’s info about the 2007, because it is a good value at $16.
• Hubble, the IMAX/OmniMax film, is one of the best I’ve seen in that setting in some time at the Cincinnati Museum Center.
• The King’s Speech is a very good film currently in the theater. I hope that it’s historically accurate.
• The Last Station is an excellent home rental.
• The American is a lousy home rental – well, outside of a stunning Violante Placido. OK ladies, you get a brief shot of George Clooney’s butt.
• Learning (on New Years’ Day) that Shania remarried was a tough way to start 2011.

Here’s a video song about Santa to a famous Charlie Daniels tune. Of course, it’s Santa Went Down to Georgia. Thank you Miss Robin. Hope everyone has a good and safe weekend.