I’m conflicted in my views on Charles Schulz. The Christmas special is a great piece of TV, but its simple (and rare in such a venue) retelling of the real Christmas story stands in a sort of tension with the story of the man himself, who gradually, over many years, abandoned his faith altogether.
I caught Charlie Rose interviewing Wes Anderson last night and Wes credits Schulz’s Christmas special and some movie I haven’t seen by the guy who made “Harold and Maude” as his two biggest influences. But I think he also credited J.D. Salinger as his biggest influence, so take it with a grain of salt. Interestingly, Wes also stated that “The Royal Tennenbaums” was based loosely on Salinger’s writing. I felt vindicated when I heard that because I thought of Salinger’s “Frannie and Zooey” when I saw the film.
I have no knowledge of Schulz apart from what has been discussed on Threedonia. I remember reading Peanuts’ strips as a teen and feeling depressed. Looking back on some of the strips as an ‘adult’ (or as close as I ever might be to an adult) there is a clear undercurrent of depression and cynicism.
Having said that, the Peanuts Christmas special does include have nicely done religious message. I wonder if that makes TV execs nervous?
As a side note, does anyone know if Dolly Madison is still one of the main sponsors? I’d love it if the Peanuts special would include some of the old ads.
Now I don’t want to raise the intellectual ceiling so high that it becomes exclusionary here but does anyone else have Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2? My best friend and I need more players.
Yes, this is how I unwind but give me a break since mid-November I’ve been working between 12 and 16 hours a day.
I unwind through taxidermy. I love making those cute little jackalopes and putting antlers on rodents. I also do a pretty good bunny torso with duck feet and swan’s head.
Wait, wait, wait, Charles Shulz abandoned his faith? I was unaware of this. Can anyone provide information?
Sallinger is frustrating to me. I loved, loved, loved “Catcher in the Rye”, and eagerly tore in to “Frannie and Zoey” looking for more, but came out of that feeling pretty…uhm…well, not really feeling anything, if I’m honest. It made no impression on me. Read it again, still nothing. Read his short stories, and…well…a lot of people don’t like his short stories.
“F and Z” continues to be an enigma to me, though, because a lot of my friends totally swear by the book, and it obviously means a lot to them, but to me…well, I’m tone deaf to its music of the spirit, I guess.
Schulz was a practicing church member while he lived in God’s Country (Minneapolis), but stopped attending church when he moved to California. He gave his children no religious instruction at all, and said not a word when his wife took his daughter to Japan to get an abortion (illegal in the US at the time). Toward the end of his life he told an interviewer that his world view was basically secular humanism. He had an affair, reconciled briefly with his wife, and then they divorced. After that he seduced another man’s wife and married her.
Reading the book was emotionally wrenching for me, because in many ways I identify with him, and not only because his Norwegian mother’s family was a lot like my Norwegian/Danish mother’s family.
I think it may have been the wealth and prestige that moved him away from his faith. The usual carrots. Why attend church when you are God? Worship yourself??
I liked “Frannie and Zooey” but I wouldn’t put it in the pantheon of great literature. It’s no, “Captain Underpants.” I also enjoyed “Catcher in the Rye,” but I re-read it later, as an adult, and found it a bit pedestrian. I think it’s one of those books that if you read it at a certain time in your life you’ll get a lot out of it, but if you miss that window it’s just another book.
If they made Frankenstein movies nowadays, the sequels would be odd: the Monster could not go on a rampage until he’d downloaded the latest firmware. “Improves compatibility with villagers, resolves conflicts with fire.”
Anyone here in the Atlanta area? I’m thinking of moving there when I graduate. Got a buddy who offered me his spare bedroom and no rent until I find a job and he lives in a really nice part of ATL.
I am indeed in the Nashville area. Technically I’m in Brentwood which is sort of the Beverly Hills of the South and about 10 or 15 minutes out of Nash-Vegas. This is also a good place to be if you’re a single man…which I am not.
I’ve been fortunate enough to see a fair amount of this country (and quite a few others) through my work as an evil industrialist. I think I have a sense of what a lot of places are like. The question is, “what are you like?” What are places you’ve enjoyed, and why?
Atlanta is a pretty decent city. I could definitely live there, but I’d have to live in the city proper. It’s suburbs are about as suburban as any major city in the country and the traffic to and from its suburbs is horrendous. One unique thing about Atlanta; they have a lot of upper-middle class suburbs that are predominantly African-American. They do that better than just about any other city with a large, African-American population. You’ll find African-Americans in well to do suburbs in other U.S. cities; Austin, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle… but those cities have a relatively low percentage of African-American residents.
I don’t know if you’ve lived anywhere where you were a “Yankee,” but you need to understand what that means, and be sure you can manage that. I have been a “Yankee,” and it never bothered me, but I know some people that really got rattled by the comments. Atlanta is a diverse city and there are a lot of Northerners there, but you can get into rural Georgia pretty quick, and you will stand out there, and folks will let you know they think you’re different.
The climate is pretty decent. The occassional ice storm and a few nights in the 40′s, maybe even 20′s, but you’re almost always guaranteed a sunny day in the upper 50′s or 60′s soon, so if you get some cold, gloomy weather you can rest assured there will be a respite in a couple days. Summers are brutal. If you hate hot, humid weather, forget about it! Summer means five+ months of continual humidity and heat. It’s like living in a steam bath, 24/7, but they have lots of air-conditioning and sweet tea.
You can fly anywhere in the country or the world from their airport, and that’s nice. Georgia has some pretty scenery. You’re not too far from the ocean, Savannah is a great town!, and the mountains of Tennessee are gorgeous! Lots of sportsmen and women in Georgia. Lots of fishing, hunting, NASCAR, chewing tobacco… Atlanta actually has a fairly large gay community also. I’m no expert, but I would guess it’s the biggest in the South. Maybe Miami is larger? I don’t know. You’d have to ask Floyd for hard numbers on that, and yes, “hard” was an intended pun.
Oh yeah, awesome food! There are a lot of obese people in Georgia and when you spend a few days there you quickly learn why. Their food is fantastic! Tons of great places to eat and tons of great cooking!
I am from the north but grew up in south Florida. I don’t really identify myself as either a Yankee or a Southerner so I feel like I could deal with the comments. As far as climate as long as it doesn’t get cold enough to freeze my soul (which it does up here in northern Ohio) I can tolerate it. Heat doesn’t bother me one bit.
I’m just sick of the north, even though I didn’t grow up in what is traditionally considered the “South” I think I’m much more at home in a southern state.
O.K., that’s good information. Now we’re getting somewhere… Have you been to Austin? Albuquerque? New Orleans? Savannah? The cool thing about New Orleans is you’d practice law under Napoleonic Code, so you’d get to condemn people to dungeons and stuff. You’d also get to wear a powdered whig and a fake mole.
What does “cold enough to freeze my soul” mean? Midwest cold sucks, and that includes Pennsylvania and upstate New York, but “coastal” cold is a whole different animal. So is “mountain” cold. Aspen at 20 degrees feels much better than Cleveland at 40.
I like Austin, wasn’t impressed with Albuquerque, New Orleans is much more a weekend trip destination (for me anyway) and Savannah is one of the coolest (and strangest) towns I have ever been to.
Soul-freezing cold comes from a combination of cold weather and the depressing reality and despair that comes from being used to winters in south Florida. It usually hits pretty hard the first time you are running late for class because your car doors were frozen shut.
Aw, this native Ohioan will be sad to see you leave. You have your reasons and I respect that. Ohio could certainly benefit from more smart, conservative young men like you. Alas, the state is not what it once was and I hope for better days. As for the weather, I’m a weirdo but I love winter. I truly understand that it’s difficult for non-natives to adjust.
BTW: a friend of mine just returned to live in Ohio after 8 years in Atlanta. He liked Atlanta though I don’t recall in what areas he lived. He had great things to say about the city. What Veruckt says about meth and ecstasy are true though.
Atlanta is the meth and ecstasy capital of the world. Soooo there is always that. Atlanta is fine as long as you stay out of the bad areas. I’d suggest looking a little further North at Athens as well.
Don’t dismiss Nashville though. We have an enormous legal field up here, I know this because we have a lot of ambulances (sorry I couldn’t resist).
I liked Denver’s weather but the people all thought they were in LA so they all stunk of self-importance.
No offense to our own, E.P., but I would sincerely take a job in Saudi Arabia before I’d take one in L.A. I can’t imagine the sum of money required to get me to live there!
I think what Lars meant is that the story is about how Christmas became less about da MAN if you know whom I am referring to and more about man…….when Linus walks up and tells the story of Christmas and draws the story full circle and bring Charlie Brown back to what Christmas is supposed to be about thats the redemptive part of the story. Linus, the voice of reason, rationality and wisdom with his blanket.
JohnFN has been covering this story (and admirably, I might add), so I don’t want to do a post, but I thought Tiger Woods’ statement was well done. I am also becoming a huge fan of his wife! Maybe it’s because she’s Swedish and Mrs. Firefly is German, but I feel like I really understand where Mrs. Woods is coming from. I love that she went through his phone and called women on it and confronted them. I also love the idea that she may have chased him out of the house with a golf club.
Mrs. Firefly and I had a good laugh when this broke because we both knew she would act the same way. I love women who protect their home and children like a mother bear protecting her den and cubs. Like many cabinet posts; husbands and fathers serve at the pleasure of the lady of the household. Go, Mrs. Woods, GO!
Well Elin kicked Tigers worthless butt. Adultery is unacceptable.
I hope she called the little skanky hos and told em to get into the Witness
protection program because they are little home wrecking harlots.
I hope she shoved the club up his bum and he is now a pop-sicle.
Ummm, I had the kids ready to watch The C.Brown Christmas Special at 8pm but was denied by Obama’s speech………It’s a plot….I’m conviced. He didn’t want the kids to hear Linus…….Now, if that had been: “It’s Ramadon Charlie Brown”…..
@ Lars: Wow. I had no idea. That is indeed sad and terrible. Thanks for telling me.
@ Mr. Sideous: That’s a big jump to make. Lots of people just aren’t all that religious. They do it because their parents did it, or because all their friends do, or because it’s just sort of expected of them, or because being a deacon is a great way to network your Mortuary business, or whatever. If they move out of the area they’re in, that’s a massive shift, and since social pressure is what kept ‘em a-goin, the lack of social pressure is what kept ‘em from a-goin’ back in their new area. Which isn’t to say you’re wrong – clearly I know next to nothing about Charles M. Schulz – but what I described is a far more commonplace reason people stop going to church than waking up one morning and deciding you’re God. The simplest explanation is usually most likely to be mostly right.
@ Rufus: Maybe that’s it. Maybe I read “Catcher” at just the right time in my life (It still works for me, though) and I *DIDN’T* read “F&Z” at the right time.
The thing is, Charles Schulz was quite an open and active Evangelical during his Minneapolis years. He did cartoons for his church body’s magazine, gave his testimony at a Billy Graham crusade, and participated in evangelism through his local church. He was, however, a desperately shy man, and seems to have dropped all that with relief when he relocated. Neglect and the temptations of wealth wore his faith away. Or so it appears.
While we’re at it,let’s give a shout out to Bobby Bowden,who is stepping down after 34 years as Florida State’s head football coach.A ‘Bama boy,Birmingham born and bred…part of that vanishing breed we call down here a good ol boy.Bobby is old school,cut from the cloth that gave us Woody Hayes,Bear Bryant,Darrell Royal,Frank Broyles..in other words,a real g*ddamn character,not a robot technocrat like Nick Saban or Urban Meyer.God bless Joe Paterno:guess he’s the last of the breed.
JoePa’s been saying nice things about Bobby “What academic violations????” Bowden, and they’ve been friends forever, so I’m going to play nice and not kick the guy as he exits. However, I will say that BB’s insistence on win-at-all costs, to the point of recruiting known criminals (and playing stupid about it), contributed to the downfall of and lesser desire for coaches from the old cloth (don’t forget Coach Stallings … and I put Coach Ferentz in that league, too). Could be wrong, but also think that mindset didn’t help much in Bowden getting the same slack cut him by Florida State boosters JoePa received earlier this decade. I know southern boys are a different breed than their Yankee variety, so just a guess.
Ok, a friend of mine just suggested this health plan as an alternative to the president’s legislative-equivalent-of-the-Vietnam war, and I’d like to run it by you fine people to see whether you think it’d fly or not.
In short:
1) Private insurance companies continue to provide health insurance for people like they always have.
2) Any person incapable of affording health insurance, and not having it paid for by their employer, will have it paid for by the government, but the individual selects the health insurance provider they, themselves, want from the normal rogues’ gallery of companies.
3) Small companies (Not large ones) that can not afford to provide insurance for their employees will, likewise, have it paid for by the government, but, again, the companies themselves select who they want to cover them.
4) Anyone going through med school at government expence would become a government employee for, say, five years once they’re fully certified. During that period, their rates for services would be set far, far below the going rate as an attempt to bring ludicrously high costs down. The doctors would be salaried during this period, so making a living isn’t a concern. My friend’s idea is that once quality care was available for cheap, medical costs would have to come down owing to basic capitalist competition. In exchange for this, the Government would forgive the doctor’s student loans and whatnot.
ANd that’s basically it. ON the one hand, I do agree with him that the insurance companies actually *know* how to insure people, and generally do a pretty good job of it, despite rhetoric to the contrary, and I agree with him that trying to develop a national healthcare system is essentially re-inventing the wheel, which is pointless when we can simply pay people to keep the wheel rolling for us. He assumes this would be far cheaper and more comprehensive than the President’s plan. Also, this plan cranks a lot of money in to the Insurance Companies, which is, in general, good for the economy. (Trickle down and all)
On the other hand, it seems to me like it penalize people who *can* afford their own insurance. (“Why should I pay $1000 a month when Meth-head over there gets it for free?”) and it ignores what I consider to be the *real* problem here: Frivolous lawsuits driving up malpractice insurance costs to the point where a lot of doctors can’t make a living.
Frankly, even if the President’s system would work (Which I doubt), if it doesn’t address the lawsuit/malpractice situation, it’ll all end in tears.
So that’s his idea and my thoughts. What are yours?
I’m at the office otherwise I could take more time to elaborate but there are some sound ideas in there. With that said here is a teaser for what I’m working on now and it is a bombshell to most in the Conservative community and I only bring it up here because it is in your post…ready…
…are you sure…
Ok here goes. Tort reform will do nothing to lower our healthcare cost.
If Elin and Tiger stay together I’ll bet she’s soon sporting a diamond that makes Kobe’s wife’s ring look like something that came in a Cracker Jack box!
How dumb is Tiger that he was doing that and didn’t bother to have two cell phones? The guy could have definitely had a service his wife didn’t know about. Ask your agent to get you service under the company name… Don’t tell the wife… One phone for the road, one for Orlando… It’s not like Elin’s sitting at the kitchen counter every month, writing checks and stuffing them in envelopes. No way she’d ever see the bill. What a maroon!
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I’m conflicted in my views on Charles Schulz. The Christmas special is a great piece of TV, but its simple (and rare in such a venue) retelling of the real Christmas story stands in a sort of tension with the story of the man himself, who gradually, over many years, abandoned his faith altogether.
I caught Charlie Rose interviewing Wes Anderson last night and Wes credits Schulz’s Christmas special and some movie I haven’t seen by the guy who made “Harold and Maude” as his two biggest influences. But I think he also credited J.D. Salinger as his biggest influence, so take it with a grain of salt. Interestingly, Wes also stated that “The Royal Tennenbaums” was based loosely on Salinger’s writing. I felt vindicated when I heard that because I thought of Salinger’s “Frannie and Zooey” when I saw the film.
I have no knowledge of Schulz apart from what has been discussed on Threedonia. I remember reading Peanuts’ strips as a teen and feeling depressed. Looking back on some of the strips as an ‘adult’ (or as close as I ever might be to an adult) there is a clear undercurrent of depression and cynicism.
Having said that, the Peanuts Christmas special does include have nicely done religious message. I wonder if that makes TV execs nervous?
As a side note, does anyone know if Dolly Madison is still one of the main sponsors? I’d love it if the Peanuts special would include some of the old ads.
Now I don’t want to raise the intellectual ceiling so high that it becomes exclusionary here but does anyone else have Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2? My best friend and I need more players.
Yes, this is how I unwind but give me a break since mid-November I’ve been working between 12 and 16 hours a day.
I unwind through taxidermy. I love making those cute little jackalopes and putting antlers on rodents. I also do a pretty good bunny torso with duck feet and swan’s head.
I assumed it was a graphic representation of the Senate health care bill.
As long as your hobby doesn’t extend to certain members of your family, I’m okay with it.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H4_1ySoYfME/SsfvvryZvOI/AAAAAAAAKSA/pVU_Yt6DbhU/s320/NormanBates.gif
I don’t need the video game.
No Lars that would have been a jackass not a jackalope.
Rufus you need to stuff that bunny from Donnie Darko. Now that would be a feat worthy of celebration.
Wait, wait, wait, Charles Shulz abandoned his faith? I was unaware of this. Can anyone provide information?
Sallinger is frustrating to me. I loved, loved, loved “Catcher in the Rye”, and eagerly tore in to “Frannie and Zoey” looking for more, but came out of that feeling pretty…uhm…well, not really feeling anything, if I’m honest. It made no impression on me. Read it again, still nothing. Read his short stories, and…well…a lot of people don’t like his short stories.
“F and Z” continues to be an enigma to me, though, because a lot of my friends totally swear by the book, and it obviously means a lot to them, but to me…well, I’m tone deaf to its music of the spirit, I guess.
Read Schulz and Peanuts by David Michaelis: http://www.amazon.com/Schulz-Peanuts-Biography-David-Michaelis/dp/0060937998/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259777817&sr=8-1
Schulz was a practicing church member while he lived in God’s Country (Minneapolis), but stopped attending church when he moved to California. He gave his children no religious instruction at all, and said not a word when his wife took his daughter to Japan to get an abortion (illegal in the US at the time). Toward the end of his life he told an interviewer that his world view was basically secular humanism. He had an affair, reconciled briefly with his wife, and then they divorced. After that he seduced another man’s wife and married her.
Reading the book was emotionally wrenching for me, because in many ways I identify with him, and not only because his Norwegian mother’s family was a lot like my Norwegian/Danish mother’s family.
I think it may have been the wealth and prestige that moved him away from his faith. The usual carrots. Why attend church when you are God? Worship yourself??
I liked “Frannie and Zooey” but I wouldn’t put it in the pantheon of great literature. It’s no, “Captain Underpants.” I also enjoyed “Catcher in the Rye,” but I re-read it later, as an adult, and found it a bit pedestrian. I think it’s one of those books that if you read it at a certain time in your life you’ll get a lot out of it, but if you miss that window it’s just another book.
Lileks was talking about updating computers in the Bleat today:
Anyone here in the Atlanta area? I’m thinking of moving there when I graduate. Got a buddy who offered me his spare bedroom and no rent until I find a job and he lives in a really nice part of ATL.
No, you’d be three hours south of me. My best friend moved to the Atlanta area a few years back so I’m in the area pretty frequently.
If you’re a single man then Atlanta is a great place to be.
Are you in the Nashville area? Nashville is one of my favorite cities, I could definitely see myself living there at some point.
I am indeed in the Nashville area. Technically I’m in Brentwood which is sort of the Beverly Hills of the South and about 10 or 15 minutes out of Nash-Vegas. This is also a good place to be if you’re a single man…which I am not.
blackhawk,
I’ve been fortunate enough to see a fair amount of this country (and quite a few others) through my work as an evil industrialist. I think I have a sense of what a lot of places are like. The question is, “what are you like?” What are places you’ve enjoyed, and why?
Atlanta is a pretty decent city. I could definitely live there, but I’d have to live in the city proper. It’s suburbs are about as suburban as any major city in the country and the traffic to and from its suburbs is horrendous. One unique thing about Atlanta; they have a lot of upper-middle class suburbs that are predominantly African-American. They do that better than just about any other city with a large, African-American population. You’ll find African-Americans in well to do suburbs in other U.S. cities; Austin, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle… but those cities have a relatively low percentage of African-American residents.
I don’t know if you’ve lived anywhere where you were a “Yankee,” but you need to understand what that means, and be sure you can manage that. I have been a “Yankee,” and it never bothered me, but I know some people that really got rattled by the comments. Atlanta is a diverse city and there are a lot of Northerners there, but you can get into rural Georgia pretty quick, and you will stand out there, and folks will let you know they think you’re different.
The climate is pretty decent. The occassional ice storm and a few nights in the 40′s, maybe even 20′s, but you’re almost always guaranteed a sunny day in the upper 50′s or 60′s soon, so if you get some cold, gloomy weather you can rest assured there will be a respite in a couple days. Summers are brutal. If you hate hot, humid weather, forget about it! Summer means five+ months of continual humidity and heat. It’s like living in a steam bath, 24/7, but they have lots of air-conditioning and sweet tea.
You can fly anywhere in the country or the world from their airport, and that’s nice. Georgia has some pretty scenery. You’re not too far from the ocean, Savannah is a great town!, and the mountains of Tennessee are gorgeous! Lots of sportsmen and women in Georgia. Lots of fishing, hunting, NASCAR, chewing tobacco… Atlanta actually has a fairly large gay community also. I’m no expert, but I would guess it’s the biggest in the South. Maybe Miami is larger? I don’t know. You’d have to ask Floyd for hard numbers on that, and yes, “hard” was an intended pun.
Oh yeah, awesome food! There are a lot of obese people in Georgia and when you spend a few days there you quickly learn why. Their food is fantastic! Tons of great places to eat and tons of great cooking!
Rufus,
I am from the north but grew up in south Florida. I don’t really identify myself as either a Yankee or a Southerner so I feel like I could deal with the comments. As far as climate as long as it doesn’t get cold enough to freeze my soul (which it does up here in northern Ohio) I can tolerate it. Heat doesn’t bother me one bit.
I’m just sick of the north, even though I didn’t grow up in what is traditionally considered the “South” I think I’m much more at home in a southern state.
O.K., that’s good information. Now we’re getting somewhere… Have you been to Austin? Albuquerque? New Orleans? Savannah? The cool thing about New Orleans is you’d practice law under Napoleonic Code, so you’d get to condemn people to dungeons and stuff. You’d also get to wear a powdered whig and a fake mole.
What does “cold enough to freeze my soul” mean? Midwest cold sucks, and that includes Pennsylvania and upstate New York, but “coastal” cold is a whole different animal. So is “mountain” cold. Aspen at 20 degrees feels much better than Cleveland at 40.
I like Austin, wasn’t impressed with Albuquerque, New Orleans is much more a weekend trip destination (for me anyway) and Savannah is one of the coolest (and strangest) towns I have ever been to.
Soul-freezing cold comes from a combination of cold weather and the depressing reality and despair that comes from being used to winters in south Florida. It usually hits pretty hard the first time you are running late for class because your car doors were frozen shut.
Aw, this native Ohioan will be sad to see you leave. You have your reasons and I respect that. Ohio could certainly benefit from more smart, conservative young men like you. Alas, the state is not what it once was and I hope for better days. As for the weather, I’m a weirdo but I love winter. I truly understand that it’s difficult for non-natives to adjust.
BTW: a friend of mine just returned to live in Ohio after 8 years in Atlanta. He liked Atlanta though I don’t recall in what areas he lived. He had great things to say about the city. What Veruckt says about meth and ecstasy are true though.
Atlanta is the meth and ecstasy capital of the world. Soooo there is always that. Atlanta is fine as long as you stay out of the bad areas. I’d suggest looking a little further North at Athens as well.
Don’t dismiss Nashville though. We have an enormous legal field up here, I know this because we have a lot of ambulances (sorry I couldn’t resist).
I liked Denver’s weather but the people all thought they were in LA so they all stunk of self-importance.
“LA so they all stunk of self-importance.”
If I actually thought about you, I would be insulted by her hick remark…
her…your
blew a hole right through that comment.
I love making fun of LA because my brother lives there. It just adds to the humor for me.
No offense to our own, E.P., but I would sincerely take a job in Saudi Arabia before I’d take one in L.A. I can’t imagine the sum of money required to get me to live there!
I’ve been wanting to check out for at least 4-5 years, so why is I can’t seem to ever leeee-a-eeve?
Yeah, I’d be gone in a second if I could. The prices, the crowding, that special self absorbed attitude. It’s all too precious!
I think what Lars meant is that the story is about how Christmas became less about da MAN if you know whom I am referring to and more about man…….when Linus walks up and tells the story of Christmas and draws the story full circle and bring Charlie Brown back to what Christmas is supposed to be about thats the redemptive part of the story. Linus, the voice of reason, rationality and wisdom with his blanket.
JohnFN has been covering this story (and admirably, I might add), so I don’t want to do a post, but I thought Tiger Woods’ statement was well done. I am also becoming a huge fan of his wife! Maybe it’s because she’s Swedish and Mrs. Firefly is German, but I feel like I really understand where Mrs. Woods is coming from. I love that she went through his phone and called women on it and confronted them. I also love the idea that she may have chased him out of the house with a golf club.
Mrs. Firefly and I had a good laugh when this broke because we both knew she would act the same way. I love women who protect their home and children like a mother bear protecting her den and cubs. Like many cabinet posts; husbands and fathers serve at the pleasure of the lady of the household. Go, Mrs. Woods, GO!
Well Elin kicked Tigers worthless butt. Adultery is unacceptable.
I hope she called the little skanky hos and told em to get into the Witness
protection program because they are little home wrecking harlots.
I hope she shoved the club up his bum and he is now a pop-sicle.
Just like to say this is my mom’s 79th birthday..she’s going strong and still giving me hell!
Happy Birthday, Scott M’s Mom!
Happy, happy, happy birthday!
Ummm, I had the kids ready to watch The C.Brown Christmas Special at 8pm but was denied by Obama’s speech………It’s a plot….I’m conviced. He didn’t want the kids to hear Linus…….Now, if that had been: “It’s Ramadon Charlie Brown”…..
@ Lars: Wow. I had no idea. That is indeed sad and terrible. Thanks for telling me.
@ Mr. Sideous: That’s a big jump to make. Lots of people just aren’t all that religious. They do it because their parents did it, or because all their friends do, or because it’s just sort of expected of them, or because being a deacon is a great way to network your Mortuary business, or whatever. If they move out of the area they’re in, that’s a massive shift, and since social pressure is what kept ‘em a-goin, the lack of social pressure is what kept ‘em from a-goin’ back in their new area. Which isn’t to say you’re wrong – clearly I know next to nothing about Charles M. Schulz – but what I described is a far more commonplace reason people stop going to church than waking up one morning and deciding you’re God. The simplest explanation is usually most likely to be mostly right.
@ Rufus: Maybe that’s it. Maybe I read “Catcher” at just the right time in my life (It still works for me, though) and I *DIDN’T* read “F&Z” at the right time.
The thing is, Charles Schulz was quite an open and active Evangelical during his Minneapolis years. He did cartoons for his church body’s magazine, gave his testimony at a Billy Graham crusade, and participated in evangelism through his local church. He was, however, a desperately shy man, and seems to have dropped all that with relief when he relocated. Neglect and the temptations of wealth wore his faith away. Or so it appears.
While we’re at it,let’s give a shout out to Bobby Bowden,who is stepping down after 34 years as Florida State’s head football coach.A ‘Bama boy,Birmingham born and bred…part of that vanishing breed we call down here a good ol boy.Bobby is old school,cut from the cloth that gave us Woody Hayes,Bear Bryant,Darrell Royal,Frank Broyles..in other words,a real g*ddamn character,not a robot technocrat like Nick Saban or Urban Meyer.God bless Joe Paterno:guess he’s the last of the breed.
JoePa’s been saying nice things about Bobby “What academic violations????” Bowden, and they’ve been friends forever, so I’m going to play nice and not kick the guy as he exits. However, I will say that BB’s insistence on win-at-all costs, to the point of recruiting known criminals (and playing stupid about it), contributed to the downfall of and lesser desire for coaches from the old cloth (don’t forget Coach Stallings … and I put Coach Ferentz in that league, too). Could be wrong, but also think that mindset didn’t help much in Bowden getting the same slack cut him by Florida State boosters JoePa received earlier this decade. I know southern boys are a different breed than their Yankee variety, so just a guess.
Ok, a friend of mine just suggested this health plan as an alternative to the president’s legislative-equivalent-of-the-Vietnam war, and I’d like to run it by you fine people to see whether you think it’d fly or not.
In short:
1) Private insurance companies continue to provide health insurance for people like they always have.
2) Any person incapable of affording health insurance, and not having it paid for by their employer, will have it paid for by the government, but the individual selects the health insurance provider they, themselves, want from the normal rogues’ gallery of companies.
3) Small companies (Not large ones) that can not afford to provide insurance for their employees will, likewise, have it paid for by the government, but, again, the companies themselves select who they want to cover them.
4) Anyone going through med school at government expence would become a government employee for, say, five years once they’re fully certified. During that period, their rates for services would be set far, far below the going rate as an attempt to bring ludicrously high costs down. The doctors would be salaried during this period, so making a living isn’t a concern. My friend’s idea is that once quality care was available for cheap, medical costs would have to come down owing to basic capitalist competition. In exchange for this, the Government would forgive the doctor’s student loans and whatnot.
ANd that’s basically it. ON the one hand, I do agree with him that the insurance companies actually *know* how to insure people, and generally do a pretty good job of it, despite rhetoric to the contrary, and I agree with him that trying to develop a national healthcare system is essentially re-inventing the wheel, which is pointless when we can simply pay people to keep the wheel rolling for us. He assumes this would be far cheaper and more comprehensive than the President’s plan. Also, this plan cranks a lot of money in to the Insurance Companies, which is, in general, good for the economy. (Trickle down and all)
On the other hand, it seems to me like it penalize people who *can* afford their own insurance. (“Why should I pay $1000 a month when Meth-head over there gets it for free?”) and it ignores what I consider to be the *real* problem here: Frivolous lawsuits driving up malpractice insurance costs to the point where a lot of doctors can’t make a living.
Frankly, even if the President’s system would work (Which I doubt), if it doesn’t address the lawsuit/malpractice situation, it’ll all end in tears.
So that’s his idea and my thoughts. What are yours?
Bot,
I’m at the office otherwise I could take more time to elaborate but there are some sound ideas in there. With that said here is a teaser for what I’m working on now and it is a bombshell to most in the Conservative community and I only bring it up here because it is in your post…ready…
…are you sure…
Ok here goes. Tort reform will do nothing to lower our healthcare cost.
More to come later.
h/t some guy Glenn Beck knows in Dubai and especially for Lars:
“What does Tiger Woods have in common with a baby seal? They both get clubbed by a Scandinavian.”
His new nickname is Cheetah Woods.
Elin Nordegren just got a tour card for beating the Masters Champion.
Woods just got tossed from the Ryder’s Cup team as his long tradition of getting beaten by Europeans continues.
What’s the difference between a car and a golf ball?
Tiger can drive a golf ball straight for more than 300 yards.
Phil Mikelson has some great material to use the next time he’s tied with Tiger after 71 holes and Tiger’s standing over a 12 foot, birdie putt.
Gives new meaning to the term “teeing off”
If Elin and Tiger stay together I’ll bet she’s soon sporting a diamond that makes Kobe’s wife’s ring look like something that came in a Cracker Jack box!
God,Rufus,stop it,you’re going to put me in the hospital,I’m laughing so hard…yeah,I guess the tabloids were spot on!
Feel better now that you got that out of your system, Rufus?
Yes!
A friend just brought up a good point:
How dumb is Tiger that he was doing that and didn’t bother to have two cell phones? The guy could have definitely had a service his wife didn’t know about. Ask your agent to get you service under the company name… Don’t tell the wife… One phone for the road, one for Orlando… It’s not like Elin’s sitting at the kitchen counter every month, writing checks and stuffing them in envelopes. No way she’d ever see the bill. What a maroon!
Rufus, you, you, you RACIST!!!
From laments about Mssrs. Shulz and Brown, to lampoons of Mr. Woods! Where else but Threedonia would we find such a vast discourse?